7:00 AM | Strong winds and colder conditions ushered in by a strong cold frontal passage
Paul Dorian
6-Day Forecast
Today
Mostly cloudy with another shower possible, windy with gusts up to 35 mph, temperatures hold steady or drop slowly during the day from the mid 40’s
Tonight
Windy, cold, maybe a few snow showers, lows in the low 30’s
Saturday
Windy, cold, partial sun, maybe a snow shower, low 40’s
Saturday Night
Windy, cold, mainly clear, upper 20's
Sunday
Breezy, cold, partly sunny, near 45
Monday
Sun early, clouds late; light rain, snow or a wintry mix possible at night, near 40
Tuesday
Light rain, snow or a wintry mix possible early; otherwise, partly sunny skies, chilly, low-to-mid 40’s
Wednesday
Becoming cloudy, rain or a mixture possible late, chilly, mid 40’s
Discussion
A strong cold front whipped through the region earlier today, on this the first day of winter, and we may look back on this as quite a game changer for the atmosphere. This front has ushered in colder air and it looks like the colder air will stick around so that on average the rest of December may be colder-than-normal. Winds have slackened off some this morning, but will intensify this afternoon and those strong winds will continue through tomorrow. A significant "lake-effect" snow event will take place downwind of the eastern Great Lakes over the next 48 hours and West Virginia could get slammed with several inches of snow.
Looking ahead to next week, there are increasing signs that a pair of systems may affect the Mid-Atlantic region. The first one has a slight chance at producing a white Christmas in suburbs well north of the District as it looks like it'll approach the region on Monday night into early Tuesday. Temperatures will be borderline; however, so while snow is possible well north of the District, some sort of a wintry mix or even just rain is more likely around here. A second and stronger storm will affect the region late Wednesday into Thursday and that system will likely feature substantial rain and/or snow. Stay tuned.
Video
httpv://youtu.be/q9V4pzkTjJM