****An Arctic invasion gets underway early this weekend...Arctic front reaches eastern US on Sunday with accumulating snow a threat...bitter cold for Inauguration Day...additional storm threats****

By early Tuesday, January 21st, much of the nation will be in the deep freeze with a large chunk of the Northern US likely below-zero. Temperatures in the big cities along the I-95 corridor can drop all the way into single digits for low temperatures on Tuesday morning. Map courtesy NOAA, weathermodels.com (Dr. Ryan Maue, X)

Overview

An Arctic invasion with a Siberian connection will get underway by the early part of the weekend as bitter cold air from Canada plunges southward through the central states. By Sunday, the Arctic air mass will spread eastward towards the Atlantic seaboard and by the time we get to Monday, Inauguration Day, most of the country will be in a deep freeze including the DC metro where outdoor activities are planned for the swearing-in ceremonies.  Temperatures are going to fall to well below-normal levels across much of the nation for the bulk of next week which is quite impressive indeed considering this is right around the time of year with the lowest “normal” temperatures.

The Arctic front at the leading edge of the cold air outbreak will reach the eastern states on Sunday and a wave of low pressure is likely to form right along its boundary zone. This Arctic wave could produce some accumulating snow in the Mid-Atlantic region from later Sunday into Sunday night. Another storm system could develop way down in the Gulf region by the middle of next week potentially bringing snow and ice to parts of the southern and eastern US. Looking ahead, there is even the chance for a third system to form across the southern states by the end of next week.

One final note, even before we get to the interesting weather of this weekend and next week, there can be some snow in the near-term across the Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast US.

Some of the air that reaches the Mid-Atlantic region early next week will have its origins from the other side of the North Pole over Siberia. Indeed “backward trajectory” models trace the origin of air parcels that reach the Mid-Atlantic region by Tuesday, January 21st, back to a land mass that is known for its brutally cold air this time of year.. Plot courtesy NOAA

Arctic blast arrives this weekend

The colder-than-normal weather pattern that began earlier this month across the central and eastern US not only looks like it will be extend through the third week of January, but it is going to go to more extreme levels. The upper-level pattern across North America has evolved into one that can produce “cross-polar” flow allowing for Siberian air to cross the North Pole and drop into Canada and the US in coming days. The outbreak of Arctic air will get underway early this weekend over the central states and the bitter cold air mass will plunge southward all the way into the heart of Texas by late Saturday. On Sunday, the Arctic front at the leading edge of the Arctic air mass will slide into the eastern states and its progression will likely slow down across the southeastern states. Energy will rotate through an upper-level trough and this will open the door for an Arctic wave of low pressure to form along the frontal boundary zone. That low pressure system would push northeastward into increasingly colder air and it can produce accumulating snow or rain changing to accumulating snow in the Mid-Atlantic region by later Sunday into Sunday night…perhaps on the order of a few inches.

An Arctic frontal boundary zone will slide into the eastern states on Sunday and energy (circled region) pushing through an upper-level trough can help to generate an Arctic wave of low pressure. This system can then push northeastward later Sunday into an increasingly cold air mass. As such, there is the chance of accumulating snow from later Sunday into Sunday night across portions of the Mid-Atlantic region and Northeast US. Map courtesy Canadian Met Centre, tropicaltidbits.com

Inauguration Day (Monday) weather

By Monday, January 20th, the bitter cold air will be firmly established across much of the nation and this includes in the DC metro region where outdoor activities are planned for the Inauguration Day ceremonies. Temperatures are likely to be not far from 20 degrees at noontime on Monday in the DC metro area and there will be a biting wind to make it feel even colder than the actual air temperatures. Temperatures on Monday night could drop into single digits along the DC-to-Philly-to-NYC corridor and to below-zero levels over a huge part of the northern US.

It was so cold on January 20th, 1985 that all outdoor activities for Ronald Reagan’s second swearing-in ceremony were cancelled. Temperatures were in single digits at the noon swearing-in time in Washington, D.C. on January 20th during what was an extremely cold Arctic air outbreak. Map courtesy NOAA

The most recent Inauguration Day that was impacted considerably by the weather took place in January of 1985 for Ronald Reagan’s second term. It was so cold on that day in Washington, D.C. with an Arctic outbreak into the eastern states that all outdoor activities were cancelled. The outside temperature at noon on January 20th was only 7°F and wind chills during the afternoon were in the -10 to -20°F range. That particular cold wave in January 1985 happened to follow a major stratospheric warming event that got underway in December of 1984.

On the eve of JFK’s inauguration in 1961, eight inches of snow fell on Washington, D.C. causing the most crippling traffic jam the District had ever seen up to that point of time with hundreds of cars abandoned on the local roadways. By sunrise on the 20th, the snow had ended and the skies were clearing, but the day remained bitter cold.  An army of men worked all night to clear Pennsylvania Avenue and despite the cold, a large crowd turned out for the swearing-in ceremony and inaugural parade. At noon, the temperature was only 22°F and the wind was blowing from the northwest at 19 mph making it feel like 7°F above zero. (For some excellent information on “Inauguration Day weather” visit this NWS site).

With cold air about to plunge again all the way into the Deep South, there chance for more than an inch of snow is “non-zero” all the way down to the Gulf coast by the end of next week. Map courtesy ECMWF, Weather Bell Analytics

Mid-week and late week storm threats

It’ll remain brutally cold on Tuesday across much of the nation (below-freezing all the way down to the Gulf) and a new wave of energy will head towards the south-central states. Given the expectation of an active southern branch of the jet stream, low pressure may indeed form over the Gulf of Mexico by the middle of next week and this system could then push to the northeast towards the eastern seaboard. With cold air firmly entrenched all the way down to the Gulf coast, this system could produce accumulating snow and ice all the way down into the Deep South and potentially farther to the north and east as it pushes towards the east coast. Looking ahead, there may be yet another wave of energy headed towards the south-central states by later next week and this too can help to spin-up a storm system near the Gulf coast by the end of next week.

A disturbance that crosses the Great Lakes on Thursday should not be overlooked as it can cause accumulating snow in that region and even small accumulations in the DC-to-Philly-to-NYC corridor by tomorrow evening. Map courtesy NOAA, tropicaltidbits.com

And finally...before we even get there some interesting weather in the near-term...

One last note...even before we get to the interesting weather this weekend and next week with all the bitter cold and storm potential, there is a system on Thursday that shouldn’t be overlooked. Low pressure will drop southeastward during the day tomorrow across the Great Lakes and likely produce a few inches of snow in that region. Some of the snow associated with this “clipper” system is also likely to make its way across the Appalachian Mountains and into the DC-to-Philly-to-NYC corridor by later tomorrow. Snow or snow showers can break out in the I-95 corridor and produce small accumulations on the order of a coating to an inch or so...not all that much; however, some of it can come right around the Thursday evening commute time.

For some good news...only 25 days until spring training begins.

Meteorologist Paul Dorian
Arcfield
arcfieldweather.com

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