9:00 AM | ***Blizzard conditions tonight and early Friday as Arctic air invades the region***
Paul Dorian
6-Day Forecast
Today
Mostly cloudy, cold, snow likely by late this afternoon, highs in the low-to-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 in the morning with continued blowing and drifting, very windy and brutally cold, temperatures holding in the teens with much lower wind chill values
Friday Night
Bitter cold, breezy, mostly clear, lows near 0 degrees
Saturday
Brutal cold start to the day then a cold afternoon with sunshine, highs in the mid-to-upper 20’s
Sunday
Mostly cloudy, not as cold, chance for rain or snow, near 40
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
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 in New Jersey, the NYC metro region and Long Island. The ingredients are in place for a major 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 before it begins in earnest early this evening. Snow will then continue heavy at times overnight with increasing winds, blowing and drifting 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 some serious blowing and drifting late tonight and early tomorrow. Friday will be a “snow day” for many as most schools and 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 DC and 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 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