7:00 AM | Amazing chill has arrived following a touch of sleet and snow; temperatures modify by the weekend

[Widespread record or near record cold; map courtesy coolwx.com]

6-Day Forecast

Today

Mostly sunny, breezy and very chilly for this time of year, highs held to 50 degrees (normal high is now 66 degrees at DCA)

Tonight

Mostly clear and cold, patchy frost towards morning, lows by morning near 30 degrees

Thursday

Patchy frost early; otherwise, mostly sunny and still cool, upper 50’s

Thursday Night

Becoming mostly cloudy, cold, mid 30’s

Friday

Mostly cloudy, cool, upper 50’s

Saturday

Mostly cloudy, a bit milder, chance for showers, low-to-mid 60’s

Sunday

Partly sunny, seasonably mild, low-to-mid 60’s

Monday

Increasing clouds, milder, chance for showers by nightfall, upper 60’s

Discussion

A touch of sleet and snow indeed reached portions of the big cities last night along the I-95 corridor from DC-to-Philly-to-New York City. This puts an exclamation point on what was already a long and cold winter season with many Mid-Atlantic locations receiving the first snowfall back in early November and now the last snowfall (hopefully) in mid-April. The cold this morning is very unusual as well for this time of year with apparent record lows in the following Mid-Atlantic locations (and this is just a small sampling): Lancaster, PA (28 degrees), Harrisburg, PA (30 degrees), Allentown, PA (27 degrees), JFK Airport in NYC (32 degrees), Andrews AFB in DC metro region (32 degrees) and Scranton, PA (23 degrees).

It’ll stay on the chilly side today with those well below normal temperatures despite plenty of sunshine. Another cold night is on the way and patchy frost is quite likely in the northern and western suburbs towards morning. Temperatures will modify by the weekend back to near seasonal levels for this time of year.

Video

httpv://youtu.be/4chXynC6QuU