7:00 | **Some wet snow possible on Friday...Arctic blast for the weekend...another storm threat by Tuesday**
Paul Dorian
6-Day DC Forecast
Today
Mainly sunny, still quite windy and mild, highs in the mid-to-upper 60’s
Tonight
Becoming cloudy and turning colder, rain develops well after midnight, lows by morning in the upper 30’s
Friday
A mix of rain and snow in the morning and maybe a snow shower or two during the afternoon, windy, quite cold, low-to-mid 40’s
Friday Night
Becoming mainly clear and quite cold, windy, near 20 degrees for lows
Saturday
Mainly sunny, very cold for this time of year, highs in the low 30's (normal high at DCA is 53 degrees)
Sunday
Mainly sunny, still very cold for this time of year, mid-to-upper 30’s
Monday
Increasing clouds after morning sun, cold, upper 30's; chance for snow at night
Tuesday
Mainly cloudy, breezy, cold, chance for snow, upper 30's
Discussion
There are three different low pressure systems to monitor for the period extending from later tonight into the middle part of next week and accumulating snow is certainly on the table, but perhaps the biggest story of all could be the impressive Arctic blast that is coming for the weekend. Air trajectory maps show that the air coming into the Mid-Atlantic region for the weekend has its origins in the Canadian Arctic where they have experienced some of the coldest March weather in decades. An Arctic front will slide through the Mid-Atlantic region on Friday – accompanied by strengthening low pressure – and its passage will usher in air that will likely be some 15-20 degrees below normal for this time of year.
The low pressure that forms along this Arctic frontal boundary zone later tonight will generate rain at first in the region, but then as colder air filters in from the north, a mixing with or changeover to snow is possible during Friday morning and that transition would occur from north-to-south. A mix of rain and snow is possible into the mid-day hours on Friday and there can be a snow shower or two during the afternoon. It is possible that some suburban locations receive a coating of wet snow on non-paved surfaces during this Friday event. After Arctic cold air overtakes the area on Friday night and Saturday, the next storm system will be suppressed well to the south - sparing the region of any late weekend snowfall. A third system is likely to develop in the Mid-Atlantic region in the late Monday night or Tuesday time frame and it could intensify rapidly near the coastline with lots of cold air in place - in other words, lots of potential.
Meteorologist Paul Dorian
Vencore, Inc.
vencoreweather.com