9:00 AM | ***An Arctic air invasion with accumulating snow and strong winds***
Paul Dorian
6-Day Forecast
Today
Mostly cloudy, cold, rain likely later this afternoon, possibly mixed with snow, highs in the low 40’s
Tonight
Precipitation becoming all snow, heavy at times, increasingly windy with plunging temperatures, lows by morning in the lower-to-middle teens
Friday
Becoming sunny, but brutally cold with strong winds, temperatures holding nearly steady in the upper teens
Friday Night
Bitter cold, breezy, mostly clear, lows not far from 10 degrees
Saturday
Brutal cold start to the day then a cold afternoon with sunshine, highs in the low 30’s
Sunday
Mostly cloudy, not as cold, chance for rain or snow, low 40’s
Monday
Mostly cloudy, milder, chance for some rain, mid 40’s
Tuesday
The next Arctic invasion with bitter cold conditions despite some sun, highs in the teens
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 only be scattered and light during the daytime hours in the I-95 corridor between DC and NYC and may actually begin as plain rain in the local area. Precipitation will change to all 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 likely be a “snow day” for many as numerous schools and even some businesses will 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