7:00 AM | **Auroras sighted around here last night...chance for another opportunity tonight...weather remains windy and quite chilly**
Paul Dorian
6-Day forecast for the Washington, D.C. metro region
Today
Partly sunny, windy, not as harsh as yesterday, but still colder-than-normal, highs in the upper 50’s; W-NW winds around 10-20 mph; gusts possible to 30 mph
Tonight
Mainly clear, breezy, cold, lows in the mid-to-upper 30’s
Thursday
Mainly sunny, windy, chilly, near 55 degrees for afternoon highs
Thursday Night
Partly cloudy, cold, near freezing for late night lows
Friday
Mainly sunny, breezy, chilly, mid-to-upper 50’s
Saturday
Partly sunny, chilly, upper 50’s
Sunday
Partly sunny, milder, chance of showers, mid-to-upper 60’s
Monday
Partly sunny, chilly, near 55 degrees
Discussion
Arctic air continues to impact the eastern states here at mid-week and today will feature colder-than-normal temperatures around here along with a continued stiff westerly wind making it feel even colder than the actual air temperature. A cold front passes through the area overnight and it’ll usher in a chilly air mass for the remainder of the week with temperatures remaining below-normal Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
In terms of space weather, a very active sunspot region unleashed three separate solar flares on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday and each one resulted in a coronal mass ejection (CME) headed towards Earth (full story). The combination of the first two CMEs impacted the Earth last night with auroras seen around here in the Mid-Atlantic region and in unusually far south locations such as Texas, Alabama, and New Mexico. The third CME that was unleashed early Tuesday morning - the strongest solar flare of the year - could result in more northern lights on Wednesday night so be on the lookout for that if skies cooperate (and they should).
Meteorologist Paul Dorian
Arcfield Weather