By RYAN CHRISTNER

rchristner@dailynews.net

Although the official start to fall was less than three weeks ago, the feeling this weekend was undeniably wintry.

Ice-laden windshields and icy roads were the norm Saturday morning, as temperatures dropped to levels not typically seen until the end of the year.

A large mass of air out of northwestern Canada was the culprit behind the bitter temperatures, according to Albert Pietrycha, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Goodland.

Around northwest Kansas, Saturday morning lows dipped into the mid 20s, low enough for new records in some areas.

Pietrycha said Goodland averages a 41-degree low during this part of the year.

Unofficially, the lowest recorded temperature Saturday was half that, a freezing 20 degrees.

The record for Goodland, he said, was 24.

In Hill City, where the record stood at 26 degrees, Pietrycha said that mark was met.

"The bottom line is: unusually cold weather," he said.

Freezing drizzle was the precipitation of choice Saturday, but small amounts of snow were also in the mix. It was nothing, however, compared to the smothering that was taken by parts of Nebraska.

Near North Platte, Neb., snow accumulations reached 17 inches, Pietrycha said.

The low in Hays, recorded at the Kansas State University Agricultural Research Center south of Hays, was 26.

The record, set in 1925, is 23 degrees. While official temperatures had not been calculated Saturday afternoon, Dodge City NWS meteorologist Jeff Hutton said it was likely to get at least that cold.

The record most likely to be broken, he said, is the maximum day-time low. Some parts of town reported temperatures of 37 degrees, a single degree cooler than the previous mark of 38 degrees.

The result of Saturday's precipitation was perhaps most noticeable on the roads.

Lt. Al Ackerman with the Kansas Highway Patrol said his department assisted with several accidents during the morning hours, before Kansas Department of Transportation crews had made their rounds to clear ice from the highways.

None of the accidents were severe, he said.

"I guess it's a little bit of a wake up call for winter to come," he said.

Hutton, too, urged caution when traveling on bridges and overpasses, which can become especially dangerous when sheeted in ice.

Forecasts are slightly better for today, with areas of freezing drizzle expected to continue and temperatures predicted between 30 and 40 degrees.

Although it is expected to warm up throughout next week -- into the 50s and possibly even the low 60s -- a chance of rain persists and Hutton said another cold front could move through the area as soon as next weekend.

Nevertheless, it won't cause as much of a dramatic effect as the arctic winds of the past few days, he said.

"That'd be pretty depressing if it got that cold and stayed through the rest of the year," Hutton said. "Eventually we'll get back into some pretty decent weather."

In St. Francis, there were reports snow could add up to be 1 or 2 inches, resident Dorothy Carpenter said.

It didn't turn out be quite that much, just a light dusting that left a thin blanket of white on the ground.

"It's really been terrible, really icy," Carpenter said. "I thought I better stay in."