Heads up, Tucson! We're in for a cold week

Brace yourselves, Tucson. We're in for a cold week — so cold that we were only four degrees short of breaking a record on Monday. 

Officials with the National Weather Service said the coldest recorded high for February 18 was 50 degrees in 1939. On Monday morning, the Old Pueblo was on its way toward beating that record with its predicted high of 48 degrees.

However, the day warmed up more than expected and weather officials said the Tucson area hit 54 degrees around noon Monday — which is still below average for Tucson. Normally, the high temperature is 69 degrees.

And although weather officials don't expect any record-breaking temperatures this week, the cold isn't over yet.

With temperatures expected to hit the mid-20s on Tuesday night, a Hard Freeze Warning will go into effect. It'll last until Wednesday morning, so don't forget to protect your pets, plants and pipes. 

A Winter Weather Advisory is also in effect for areas southeast of Tucson, though it's expected to end by 8 a.m. Tuesday. Winter weather advisories are in place for any amount of freezing rain, or when 2 to 4 inches of snow are expected to cause a significant inconvenience, but isn't serious enough to issue a warning, weather officials say. 

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And if you're wondering about that beloved snow — Tuesday's weather conditions will likely bring some to the mountains, weather officials say. And although the Old Pueblo probably won't see any snow, about an inch is possible for the Oracle and Vail areas. 

Tucsonans could also see some rain Tuesday morning. 

By Wednesday, the Old Pueblo is expected to warm up, but sunny skies won't last long.

Another storm system is expected to hit Tucson on Thursday and Friday, bringing even colder temperatures and more rain. As much as 40 inches of snow could hit Mount Lemmon, weather officials said.