7:00 AM | **Powerful late day winds could reach 50 mph as Arctic air arrives...significant snow threat Sunday afternoon into Monday**
Paul Dorian
6-Day Forecast
Today
Winds will increase dramatically later today - perhaps gusting as high as 50 mph - and skies will remain mainly cloudy, there can be a few snow showers, temperatures have already peaked for the day in the low-to-mid 30's and will trend downward later in the day along with rapidly lowering wind chill values
Tonight
Still very windy and becoming brutally cold with below zero wind chills, mainly clear skies, lows by tomorrow morning near 10 degrees
Saturday
Mostly sunny, still windy, brutal cold with continued below zero wind chills, low 20’s for highs
Saturday Night
Partly cloudy, not nearly as windy, very cold, middle teens for lows
Sunday
The potential exists for a significant snow event from Sunday afternoon into Monday…becoming cloudy, cold, snow likely to develop in the afternoon and continue at night, low 30's
Monday
Snow likely, breezy, quite cold, low-to-mid 20's; frigid cold at night
Tuesday
Mostly sunny, brutal cold, near 20 degrees
Wednesday
Partly sunny, not as cold, near 30 degrees
Discussion
The big story today will be the increasing winds which could gust to 50 mph by the end of the day and into tonight. The clipper system responsible for last night's coating of snow around here will intensify rapidly today on its way to northern New England where more significant snow can fall. This storm intensification will dramatically stiffen the pressure gradient leading to strengthening winds here later today and tonight primarily out of the northwest. Arctic air will plunge into the region by riding in on those strong NW winds and it'll be frigid tonight and Saturday with brutally cold wind chill values.
On Saturday, copious amounts of moisture will head out of the southwestern states and into the central Plains and then continue right towards the Mid-Atlantic region later this weekend. Significant snow is occurring today in the southwest US (e.g., New Mexico) and it’ll move into the region between Kansas and Indiana on Saturday. By Sunday, this moisture will begin streaming into the Mid-Atlantic region and snow is likely break out around here during the afternoon hours. Quite cold air will be in place in the Mid-Atlantic region with anchoring high pressure systems situated to the north and northwest. This storm has the potential to produce several inches of snow in the entire I-95 corridor region from Sunday afternoon into Monday, but that is still a couple days away and – as we experienced earlier this week – a slight shift in the storm track can have significant impact on the outcome. The storm may push just far enough to the north late this weekend to allow for the possibility of mixing in southern sections of the Mid-Atlantic (e.g. DC metro region) and this would have a big impact on potential snow accumulations. No matter what happens with this early week storm, bitter cold air is likely to follow for much of next week.
Video
httpv://youtu.be/nc8M87WGLxA