7:00 AM | *Some accumulating snow tonight as news-making Arctic blast arrives...zero degrees possible this weekend with dangerous wind chills...snow-to-ice-to-rain early next week*

6-Day DC Forecast

Today

Mainly cloudy, breezy, quite cold, snow showers possible at the end of the afternoon, highs in the upper 20’s

Tonight

Mostly cloudy, very cold, snow showers and heavier snow squalls are possible and even a period of steadier snow, quick accumulations on the order of a coating to an inch or two are likely given the cold ground-level conditions, lows in the upper teens

Saturday

Brutally cold with partial sunshine, windy, snow showers still possible which could produce a quick coating, highs holding at or below 20 degrees with dangerous wind chills of 15 to 25 below zero and gusts to 40 mph or so

Saturday Night

Partly cloudy, windy, extremely cold, lows in the single digits with dangerous wind chills of 15 to 25 below

Sunday

Brutally cold with partial sunshine, brisk, highs near 20 degrees

Monday

Cloudy, cold, periods of snow likely, low 30’s; snow will pick up in intensity late in the day and then transition to ice at night

Tuesday

Cloudy, not as cold, precipitation changes to rain, low-to-mid 40’s

Wednesday

Partly sunny, seasonal, low-to-mid 40’s

Discussion

Much colder air moved into the region on Thursday and it’ll stay well below normal today as we close out the work week, but this is nothing compared to what is coming this weekend. Another outbreak of Arctic air will arrive later tonight and this blast will produce some of the lowest temperatures seen in these parts in a long, long time during the upcoming weekend. In addition, this Arctic frontal passage will be accompanied by snow showers and possible heavy snow squalls and perhaps even a period of steady snow. Quick accumulations are likely tonight on the order of a coating to an inch or two given the cold ground-level conditions. Temperatures this weekend are likely to primarily hold at or below twenty degrees for highs and low temperatures by early Sunday morning will drop to single digits in the DC metro region. Wind chills will reach dangerous levels of 15 to 25 degrees below zero later tomorrow into Sunday as winds gusting to 40 mph join up with the extreme cold. Elsewhere in the Northeast US, New York City could drop to 0 degrees by early Sunday and if they do, it would be the first time there since late January 1994 – Philly dropped to 1 above during that same outbreak in 1994. Boston and Providence - aided by some snow decent cover - could approach their all-time low temperature records by Sunday morning. After the brutally cold weekend, clouds will thicken up quickly on Monday, President’s Day, and there is likely to be some light snow breaking out during the day. A significant storm will organize near Georgia later Monday and then take an inland track on Tuesday up through the eastern states. The light snow on Monday is likely to become heavier for awhile later in the day and early Monday night before it transitions to ice and then to rain on Tuesday. It is possible, however, that even with a changeover to plain rain by Tuesday, there is a significant buildup of snow and/or ice during the front end of the storm; especially, in the suburbs to the north and west. Stay tuned on this one.

Meteorologist Paul Dorian

Vencore, Inc.