A major Arctic outbreak reached the northern US on Monday and the surface front marking the leading edge of this air mass will likely makes its arrival here on Friday afternoon. Before we get there, a soaking rainfall event is likely here from early Thursday into early Friday and it’ll turn very windy and noticeably milder. In fact, on Friday morning – ahead of the advancing Arctic frontal system – temperatures could peak in the 50’s and winds will be quite strong from a south-to-southeast direction.
Following the passage of the Arctic front on Friday afternoon, winds will remain strong shifting to a W-NW direction and temperatures will plunge by as much as 25 or 30 degrees in just a couple of hours. This sharp drop in temperatures can lead to a “flash freeze” of any lingering wet spots on roadways. In addition, a burst of snow is possible immediately following the frontal passage which can even put down small accumulations in some spots as the Arctic air pours into the region in a still very unstable atmosphere. Christmas Eve (Saturday) and Christmas Day (Sunday) will be very cold throughout the eastern US with some of the coldest weather conditions for these two days in many years. Single digits are on the table in suburban locations both on Saturday morning and again on Sunday morning.
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A major Arctic air outbreak has reached the interior northwest and north-central states and it will become quite a newsworthy event in coming days. This widespread and intensely cold Arctic air mass will drop southward to Texas by later Thursday and then shift to the east on Friday reaching the eastern seaboard by Friday night. Numerous low temperature records are likely to be set over the next few days; especially, in the central US from the Canadian border to the Mexican border.
At the leading edge of the Arctic air mass will be a powerful surface frontal system that will be very active as it crosses the Great Lakes/Midwest/Ohio Valley from west-to-east. This Arctic front will produce blizzard conditions from the Plains all the way to the Appalachians as it treks west-to-east during the next few days. The powerful Arctic front is likely to arrive in the DC-to-Philly-to-NYC corridor region on Friday afternoon and its passage could be quite dramatic.
Winds will be very strong and potentially damaging for much of the day on Friday in the Mid-Atlantic region both ahead of the Arctic front (S-SE direction) and behind it (W-NW direction)…not a good time for inflatable outdoor decorations. Temperatures will plunge as plunge as much as 25 or 30 degrees behind the front in just a couple of hours from the mild 50’s in the morning to the 20’s by day’s end. This sharp drop in temperatures can result in a “flash freeze” of any lingering wet spots on roadways from prior rainfall.
In addition, a burst of snow is possible immediately following the frontal passage which can even put down small accumulations in some spots as the Arctic air pours into the region in a still very unstable atmosphere. Christmas Eve (Saturday) and Christmas Day (Sunday) will be very cold throughout the eastern US with some of the coldest weather conditions for these two days in many years. Single digits are on the table in suburbs along the I-95 corridor both on Saturday and Sunday (Christmas) mornings.
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A major Arctic air outbreak will blast into the US this week. The core of the frigid air will drop southeastward on Monday from western Canada into Montana/North Dakota and then dive southward to Texas by later in the week. The Arctic air mass will then push to the northeast later Friday with a powerful frontal system at the leading edge of the incoming cold air mass. The powerful Arctic front will likely arrive in the Mid-Atlantic’s I-95 corridor on Friday afternoon and its passage could be quite dramatic. Powerful winds are likely, temperatures will drop sharply as much as 30 degrees in a few hours, there can be a quick freeze-up or “flash-freeze” of any lingering wet spots on roadways. In addition, a burst of snow is possible which can put down small accumulations as the Arctic air pours into the region in a still very unstable atmosphere. Christmas Eve (Saturday) and Christmas Day (Sunday) will be very cold throughout the eastern US with some of the coldest weather conditions for these two days in many years. Single digits are on the table in suburban areas both Saturday and Sunday mornings.
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A major Arctic air outbreak will blast into the US this week. The core of the frigid air will drop southeastward on Monday from western Canada into Montana/North Dakota and then dive southward to Texas by later in the week. Numerous low temperature records are likely to be set in this outbreak all the way from the US/Canada border to the US/Mexico border. The Arctic air mass will then make another move on Friday to the northeast with a powerful surface frontal system at the leading edge of the advancing cold air mass.
The powerful Arctic front will arrive in the Mid-Atlantic’s I-95 corridor likely late Friday and its passage could be quite dramatic. Damaging winds are possible late Friday, temperatures will drop sharply, and there can be a quick freeze-up or “flash-freeze” of any lingering wet spots on roadways. In addition, snow showers or even heavier snow squalls can develop as the Arctic air pours into the region in a still very unstable atmosphere. Christmas Eve (Saturday) and Christmas Day (Sunday) will be very cold throughout the eastern US with some of the coldest weather conditions for these two days in many years.
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The coastal storm that spread precipitation into our region on Thursday will gradually push away this morning and there will be clearing skies in the afternoon. High pressure edges this way and will control the weather through the weekend and right through the first half of next week. Temperatures will average below-normal for this time of year with highs generally doing no better than the lower 40’s during the next several days despite plenty of sunshine. Late next week, a storm can form near the east coast at the leading edge of an incoming Arctic air mass…something we’ll need to monitor in coming days. Christmas weekend to follow is looking quite cold in the eastern half of the nation.
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A record-breaking Arctic air outbreak will blast into the US next week. This frigid air mass will spread south and east next week - no doubt breaking numerous low temperature records along the way - and reach the eastern states by week’s end. A very cold Christmas weekend is in store for much of the eastern half of the nation. In fact, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (Saturday, Sunday) could turn out to the coldest such in many years across much of the eastern half of the nation. With respect to snow chances, there may very well be a major storm system that forms on the leading edge of the Arctic blast at the end of next week in the eastern US which raises hope for a white Christmas in many locations.
Meanwhile, in the short-term, the major storm that has pounded much of the country in recent days with blizzard conditions in northern areas and severe weather in southern states is now impacting the Mid-Atlantic region and Northeast US. Rain will be the dominate precipitation type from here on out in the immediate I-95 corridor to go along with increasingly strong easterly winds. Significant snow is on the table for upstate PA, upstate NY, and the interior part of New England with some spots likely to receive more than a foot. Following this storm, much of the nation will experience colder-than-normal conditions this weekend with virtually coast-to-coast below-normal temperatures.
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The precipitation field associated with a weakening storm system over the western Great Lakes and a newly developing secondary storm system over the Carolinas arrived in the DC metro region in the wee hours moving in from southwest-to-northeast. There can be an additional small buildup of ice this morning in some of the far northern and western suburbs…watch out for slick spots in those areas where temperatures hold near freezing for a bit longer. Increasingly strong easterly winds will develop as the low pressure system intensifies near the coast and this will pump in slightly milder maritime air. This influx of slightly milder air will lead to a southeast-to-northwest moving transition of any wintry mix that still falls to plain rain by later in the morning. The rain can get heavy later today and winds will be quite strong from an easterly direction. The rain winds down later this evening and tomorrow will see the return of sunshine and then the weekend will turn gradually colder and below-normal for this time of year.
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A powerful storm that has caused problems in much of the nation in recent days will impact the Mid-Atlantic region and Northeast US from later tonight into early Friday. Heavy snow associated with this impactful storm system fell this past weekend in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of eastern California and southern Cascades. Significant snow then fell from Monday into Tuesday across the northern Rockies and Northern Plains and today’s blizzard conditions will extend east to Minnesota and Wisconsin. Meanwhile, in the warm sector of this large-scale storm system, severe weather including isolated tornadoes broke out yesterday from Texas/Oklahoma to Louisiana and the threat zone today will shift slightly to the east to include Mississippi and Alabama.
By late tonight, precipitation will break out in the Mid-Atlantic and an icy mess is on the table for early Thursday from DC-to-Philly; especially, in the northern and western suburbs of those cities. Increasingly strong easterly winds will pump in slightly milder maritime air later tomorrow bringing about a transition to plain rain and some of it will become heavy at times into the nighttime hours to go along with those strong winds.
Looking ahead, a major Arctic air outbreak appears to be headed to the US later next week and the frigid air mass will likely last stick around right through the Christmas weekend in much of the central and eastern US. Arctic cold has gripped Europe for the past several days and this is often a foreshadowing of conditions to come in the US. The cold weather pattern will remain quite active as well next week increasing the chances for a white Christmas in much of the northern US.
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An icy mess will develop across the DC metro region later tonight and last into the mid-to-late morning hours on Thursday. Freezing rain possibly mixed with sleet will move from southwest-to-northeast and arrive in the DC metro region between 11PM and 3AM. The movement of the precipitation means it will begin first in places like Culpeper and Chantilly in Virginia and last in places like Laurel and Columbia in Maryland. Small accumulations of ice are likely late tonight and early Thursday morning; especially, in the normally colder far northern and western suburbs…watch out for slick spots…the ground has been cold lately.
Low pressure will form over the Carolinas on Thursday and then intensify as it moves near or over the Delmarva Peninsula tomorrow night to a position just off Long Island by mid-day Friday. As the developing storm intensifies near the Delmarva Peninsula later tomorrow, easterly winds will increase here and pump in milder maritime air causing a changeover of the precipitation to plain rain. The rain can get quite heavy later tomorrow and winds will be quite strong off the ocean. The rain winds down later tomorrow night and it turns gradually colder this weekend.
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A major storm system continues to wreak havoc across the nation today with blizzard conditions in the Northern Plains and severe weather in the south-central US. This same system dumped 6 feet of snow over the weekend in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of eastern California. As this initial storm system grinds to a halt over the Upper Midwest later this week, a secondary storm will form near the eastern seaboard. This system will bring significant snows to interior sections of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast from Thursday into Friday while the I-95 corridor region from DC-to-Philly-to-NYC is likely to experience a wintry mix at the onset of the event followed by heavy (plain) rain and strong winds.
Looking ahead, an Arctic outbreak appears to be headed to the US later next week and the biting cold will likely last right through Christmas weekend in the central and eastern states. Arctic cold has already become well established across much of Europe and Asia which is often a foreshadowing of conditions to come in the US. The cold pattern will remain quite active later next week with storm chances increasing the chances for a white Christmas in much of the northern US.
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