9:00 AM | ***A snowstorm with plunging temperatures and another brutal Arctic air invasion next week***
Paul Dorian
6-Day Forecast
Today
Mostly cloudy, cold, snow showers possible late this afternoon possibly mixed briefly with rain, highs in the mid 30’s
Tonight
Snow, heavy at times, increasing winds with blowing and drifting, plunging temperatures through the teens and possibly into single digits by dawn
Friday
Snow winds down early, very windy and brutally cold, temperatures holding in the teens with much lower wind chill values
Friday Night
Bitter cold, breezy, mostly clear, lows not far from 0 degrees
Saturday
Brutal cold start to the day then a cold afternoon with sunshine, highs in the mid-to-upper 20’s; kickoff temperatures for the Eagles game in the low 20’s
Sunday
Mostly cloudy, not as cold, chance for rain or snow, upper 30’s
Monday
Mostly cloudy, milder, chance for some more rain, low-to-mid 40’s
Tuesday
Another Arctic air invasion with pipe-busting cold, highs in the teens at best
Discussion
The next several days will feature two serious Arctic air outbreaks and a snowstorm in the Mid-Atlantic region that will cause blizzard conditions later tonight and early tomorrow from New Jersey to eastern New England and perhaps as far inland as eastern Pennsylvania. The ingredients are in place for a significant storm to form near the Mid-Atlantic coastline by later tonight as brutally cold Arctic air wraps into the system. Precipitation will be scattered and light during the daytime hours in the I-95 corridor between DC and NYC and may actually begin as rain south of the PA/MD border. All precipitation in the I-95 corridor will change to snow this evening and continue heavy at times overnight with increasing winds and plunging temperatures.
Indeed, an unusual aspect of this storm will be the major Arctic air intrusion that occurs while it is still snowing. The result of this is that the normal “snow-to-rain” ratio of 10-to-1 will likely climb to as high as 15-to-1. This will translate into higher snowfall accumulation amounts - of the light and fluffy variety - given the expected total precipitation values. This will also result in blowing and drifting late tonight and early tomorrow. Friday will be a “snow day” for many as numerous schools and even some businesses will likely shut down for the day.
Snowfall accumulation estimates in the Mid-Atlantic region are as follows: anywhere from a coating to 4” across the region from DC to the Delmarva Peninsula with the highest amounts near the PA/MD border, 4-8 inches in southeastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey, and 6-10 inches across northern New Jersey and the NYC metro region with blizzard conditions - all still subject to upward revisions. Temperatures by early Friday will plunge to the single digits in some I-95 corridor locations north and east of the PA/MD border with much lower wind chills and temperatures will not budge much at all during the rest of the day as the core of this first major Arctic outbreak moves into the Mid-Atlantic region. The next brutal Arctic air mass arrives by on Monday night and Tuesday of next week and this air mass could be a record-breaker for many with “pipe-busting” type of cold.
Video
httpv://youtu.be/Rosurb57bNg