The relief will be slow to arrive and interrupted by a passing cold front early Thursday. A few snow showers could lead to some minor accumulation. COLDEST OF THE COLD WAVE There was a surge in temperatures Wednesday to as much as 20° warmer than the same time Tuesday but still no bargain. 23° is better than 3° but brisk winds are offsetting the 'warmup'. South winds are elevating temperatures, but wind-chills remain quite cold. Single digits late Wednesday is a huge improvement from the -19° earlier this morning. COLDEST of the air is behind us for now. Early morning lows Wednesday included -14° Harford City (Blackford Co) -10° Economy (Wayne Co) -10° New Castle (Henry Co). The bitter cold is easing but not in full retreat just yet. A new surge in cold arrives behind a passing front Thursday afternoon. Not as brutal cold behind it but area temperatures will once again fall into the single digits early Friday morning. SNOW SHOWERS POSSIBLE OVERNIGHT Still a shortage of snow cover across the Nation at 39.7%. That's down from 51% last year on this date. Note the southern snow - more on the ground in the deep south than in portions of Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa and southern Wisconsin. Clouds arrived late Wednesday and a few snow showers are not far behind. The passing warm front and then the cold front Thursday will provide a few passing snow showers, especially early Thursday. There could be a light coating or some minor accumulation early Thursday before tapering off the flurries and ending as the winds shift again to the northwest.