7:00 AM | ***Strong low pressure passes by to our north on Thursday...snow/rain showers here later tonight into Thursday morning...maybe a heavier snow squall...powerful winds, Arctic cold follow***
Paul Dorian
6-Day forecast for the Washington, D.C. metro region
Today
Sun followed by clouds, becoming breezy, cold, highs not far from 40 degrees; S-SW winds around 5-10 mph in the morning and then increasing to 10-20 mph in the afternoon
Tonight
Mainly cloudy, cold, windy, good chance of snow and/or rain showers, middle 30’s for late night lows
Thursday
Chance of AM snow showers and perhaps even a heavier snow squall then becoming mainly sunny, very windy with gusts possible to 50 mph or so, cold, mid-to-upper 30’s for early day highs…much lower wind chill values
Thursday Night
Mainly clear, windy with gusts to 50 mph or so, quite cold, mid-to-upper 20’s for late night lows with much lower wind chill values
Friday
Mainly sunny, windy, quite cold, mid-to-upper 30’s
Saturday
Partly sunny, breezy, cold, near 40 degrees
Sunday
Mainly sunny, milder, near 50 degrees
Monday
Mainly cloudy, mild, chance of rain, low-to-mid 50’s
Discussion
Low pressure will push across southern Canada during the next couple of days in a general “west-to-east” fashion and it’ll strengthen markedly by the time it reaches the Canadian Maritime Provinces on Thursday evening. This low pressure system will have a trailing strong cold front that will slide across the I-95 corridor region during the early morning hours on Thursday and its passage will likely not go unnoticed. There can be snow and/or rain showers along the I-95 corridor from later tonight into tomorrow morning and perhaps even a heavier snow squall as the cold front surges through the area and to the east coast. Small accumulations are on the table between later tonight and the late morning hours on Thursday and, as a word of caution, the ground is quite cold given the recent below-normal temperature pattern so any snow that does fall – even if only minor amounts - can quickly lead to slippery road conditions early tomorrow.
In addition to the snow and/or rain showers, the winds will become a big factor during this weather event increasing noticeably later tonight from a southwesterly direction and then they are likely to gust to 50 mph or so from a northwesterly direction on Thursday and Thursday night following the passage of the front. These powerful and potentially damaging NW winds later tomorrow and tomorrow night will usher in another Arctic air mass and wind chills are going to reach their lowest levels so far this season.
Meteorologist Paul Dorian
Arcfield Weather