An Arctic cold front pushed through the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast US on Monday night and the northeastern quadrant of the nation is suffering today as a result. Temperatures are way below-normal for this time of year despite some sunshine and a stiff NW breeze is pushing wind chill values down into single digits and, in some spots, to sub-zero levels. There will be some modification in temperatures on Wednesday and Thursday, but another cold air mass will arrive from the northwest at week’s end. Looking ahead, the overall weather pattern appears to be evolving into one that could feature multiple storm threats for the eastern US in coming days. A first system looks like it’ll stay far enough off the east coast on Thursday and Friday to have little or no impact in the Mid-Atlantic region, but it still needs to be monitored and could skirt eastern New England. A second storm threat could come in the Sunday/Monday time frame and this one has a much better chance at having an significant impact in the Mid-Atlantic/NE US.
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The passage of a secondary cold frontal system last evening ushered in the coldest air mass in a few years for the Mid-Atlantic region and Northeast US. Despite some sunshine today, temperatures will be confined to the 20’s for highs – way below-normal for this time of year – and a stiff breeze will produce wind chills down in the single digits. After another very cold night, temperatures will modify some on Wednesday and even more on Thursday with highs likely reaching 40+ degrees on Thursday afternoon. An “ocean” storm will form late this week in the southwestern part of the Atlantic Ocean and it will likely stay far enough off the coast to have little or no impact around here. The overall weather pattern will, however, likely produce other storm threats for us beginning later this weekend and lasting into at least the middle part of next week.
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A cold front passed through the Mid-Atlantic region on Sunday night and a secondary cold front will come through on Monday evening. This secondary cold front will usher in true Arctic air for the region with its origins way up in the high latitudes and the stretch of weather from Monday night through Tuesday night will feature some of the coldest conditions we’ve experienced in quite awhile and some “face-slapping” wind chills. The “Great Lakes snow machine” has been activated with the Arctic air mass flowing over the relatively warm waters and will continue into Tuesday for downstream locations. Looking ahead, the overall weather pattern is likely to evolve into one that can produce storms in the eastern US during at least a 10-day stretch beginning this weekend.
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A strong cold front passed through the region on Sunday night and it has ushered in a cold air mass for today, and a reinforcing Arctic front will pass through early tonight - true Arctic air will follow this second front. The approach and arrival of the Arctic front later today/this evening could produce some snow shower activity in the Mid-Atlantic region. The coldest core of this Arctic air mass will be across the area from tonight through tomorrow night as high pressure edges into the area. Temperatures will modify on Wednesday and Thursday, but we’ll have to get through a 36-hour or so very cold stretch beforehand.
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Accumulating snow ended this morning across the Mid-Atlantic region and, in its wake, there are quite windy and cold conditions with partial sunshine. The next threat of wintry precipitation looks like it will come early in the day on Sunday, January 9th and this time, it will likely be in the form of freezing rain and/or sleet. The opportunity for icing will come on Sunday morning as milder air tries to advance northeastward into what will be a cold and dense air mass. It doesn’t take much in the way of icing to have an important impact on travel conditions. Whatever precipitation does fall on Sunday, it will certainly be followed by an Arctic outbreak for the early part of next week that will feature some very impressive cold for the northeastern quadrant of the nation.
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Low pressure that generated the overnight snowfall continues to intensify this morning as it pushes northeastward over the open waters of the western Atlantic. This system will push fairly rapidly during the next few hours to a position off the east coast of Maine by mid-day. Any clouds early today will give way to mainly sunny skies and it’ll become quite windy with gusts to 35 mph for the mid-day and afternoon. Later tonight, temperatures will drop well down into the teens and Saturday will remain much colder-than-normal for this time of year despite some sunshine. Milder air will try to push into the area late Saturday night and Sunday and this process may initially result in a bit of rain and/or ice in some spots. By later Sunday, temperatures should be able to reach into the 40’s, but the warm up will be short-lived as another impressively cold air mass will arrive early next week following the passage of the next cold frontal system.
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An upper-level disturbance is helping to generate surface low pressure in the southeastern states at mid-day and this system will intensify over the next 24 hours as it moves rather quickly to the northeast - likely reaching the waters off of eastern Maine by mid-day on Friday. Accumulating snow will spread across the DC-to-Philly-to-NYC corridor later tonight and it’ll wind down on Friday morning from southwest-to-northeast. There are likely to be small-scale heavier snow bands that develop later tonight/early Friday associated with mid-level “frontogenetic forcing” and these will produce localized higher accumulation amounts. It’ll be quite cold during and after the storm and another very impressive cold air blast will arrive in the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast US early next week.
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An upper-level disturbance will help to develop low pressure today in the southeastern states and this system will intensify as it moves fairly quickly to the northeast reaching the waters off of eastern Maine by mid-day Friday. Accumulating snow will spread across the region later this evening and it should be over by dawn on Friday likely with accumulation totals of 2-4 inches although isolated higher amounts are possible; especially, in the eastern half of the metro region. Temperatures will drop well down into the teens on Friday night in the wake of the low pressure system and it’ll stay quite cold on Saturday. A brief warm up into the 40’s on Sunday afternoon will be followed by another impressive cold shot early next week following the passage of another cold frontal system.
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Today will turn a little bit milder in the Mid-Atlantic region as low-level winds increase in intensity from a southwesterly direction ahead of the next cold frontal system. That cold front will shift to our east later tonight and its passage will usher in another cold air mass for the latter part of the week. On Thursday, an upper-level disturbance will help to spawn the formation of low pressure in the southeastern states and this system will intensify as it moves fairly quickly to the northeast reaching the waters off of Maine by mid-day Friday. Some accumulating snow will spread across the DC-to-Philly-to-NYC corridor on Thursday night and it’ll likely come to a quick end early Friday resulting in a moderate snowfall for the region. Temperatures are likely to drop to the teens on Friday night all along the I-95 corridor in the wake of the low pressure system and another cold air blast will arrive early next week into the Mid-Atlantic region.
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High pressure will shift off the coast today and this will allow for somewhat milder air to push into the Mid-Atlantic region from the Ohio Valley. Initially, this action may produce a touch of freezing rain as low-level temperatures hover near freezing early in the day, but temperatures should climb into the 40’s this afternoon aided by an increasingly strong southwesterly wind. A cold front will pass through the region in the overnight hours paving the way for a colder air mass for the late week. The next threat of accumulating snow for the Mid-Atlantic region comes on Thursday night and early Friday as low pressure pushes to near the Mid-Atlantic coastline. At this time, the late week event looks like a moderate snowfall - perhaps on the order of 2-4 inches - as the low pressure system will be moving along at a pretty good clip. Perhaps a bigger story is the cold that will likely accompany and follow this late week event and then another cold blast is destined to arrive early next week. The blast early next week could turn out be a doozy with “single-digit” type cold…get ready for those heating bills.
One final bit of information on Monday’s snowstorm…6.9 inches was officially recorded at Reagan National Airport (DCA). It was more snow there than the last two winters combined, the most in one day in about 3 years, and the 3rd biggest “first snow” on record.
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