7:00 AM | ****Soaking rain event until early Friday...Arctic blast arrives late morning on Friday...plunging temperatures, strong wind gusts, "flash-freeze" and a burst of snow****

6-Day forecast for the New York City metro region

Today

Mainly cloudy, increasingly windy and turning milder, occasional rain develops by mid-day or early afternoon, some of the rain can be heavy at times later in the day, highs in the upper 40’s; E-NE winds increasing to 10-20 mph 

Tonight

Rainy and windy with gusts possible to 45 mph, maybe a thunderstorm, some of the rain can be heavy, watch for localized flooding, temperatures to rise tonight likely into the 50’s

Friday

Mainly cloudy and mild in the morning with additional rainfall, maybe even an early day thunderstorm…a powerful Arctic front blasts through the region during the late morning hours and temperatures will crash – perhaps by more than thirty degrees, watch for a quick freeze-up on roadways and a burst of snow can produce a quick coating to an inch or two, very windy with gusts possible to 50 mph

Friday Night             

Partly cloudy, very windy, frigid cold with near 10 degree lows possible by morning, dangerous wind chills of well below zero

Saturday

Mainly sunny, windy, bitter cold with temperatures holding near or below 20 degrees for highs, dangerous wind chills of well below zero

Sunday

Mainly sunny, windy, frigid cold, lower 20’s for afternoon highs

Monday

Mainly sunny, still brisk and very cold, upper 20’s

Tuesday

Mainly sunny, cold, low-to-mid 30’s

Discussion              

Rain will arrive during the mid-day or early afternoon hours and will become heavy at times later in the day. The rain will continue into early Friday morning and there can be a thunderstorm or two mixed into this soaking rain event. It’ll turn milder later today and winds will become increasingly strong pushing in the milder air. A powerful Arctic front will arrive here during the late morning on Friday and temperatures will drop dramatically on its back side – perhaps by more than 30 degrees in a short period of time. Winds will remain strong behind the front shifting to a W-NW direction and gusting to 50 mph or so. A quick freeze-up is possible on Friday of any wet spots that remain on the roadways from the prior rainfall. A burst of snow is likely immediately behind the frontal passage which can quickly generate a coating to an inch or two - adding to the potential difficulty in overall travel conditions. Temperatures may bottom out near 10 degrees by early Saturday morning (Christmas Eve) and the frigid weather will continue through Christmas Day (Sunday). Winds will stay quite strong through much of the weekend adding to the suffering of the upcoming “face-slapping” Arctic cold.

Meteorologist Paul Dorian
Arcfield Weather