A high impact weather event is unfolding for much of the eastern US with accumulating snow to be followed by extreme cold and dangerous sub-zero wind chills. A powerful storm over the western Atlantic Ocean will deepen explosively during the next 24-36 hours as it moves generally northward from off the Florida coastline today to just east of Maine by tomorrow night. This storm will develop hurricane-like strength by tomorrow night when its central pressure could bottom out near 28.14 inches (953 millibars) – this is on the same level as category 3 (major) hurricanes. Extremely cold air will pour into the eastern US on the heels of this ocean storm and given its intense pressure gradient, winds will strengthen significantly on Thursday night and Friday. The combination of wind gusts past 40 mph and the extremely cold temperatures will generate dangerous sub-zero wind chill values for an extended period of time from Thursday night to Saturday night. After that, some moderation in temperatures should arrive early next week, but that temporary “warmup” may be accompanied by some wintry precipitation.
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The bitter cold weather pattern of the past couple of weeks for the eastern two-thirds of the nation will not ease up at all this week and an added feature will be a powerful storm that develops over the western Atlantic Ocean. This storm is likely to generate ice and accumulating snow from Florida to New England over the next couple of days and accumulating snow can fall all the way back to the immediate I-95 corridor region between DC and Philly. Temperatures today will stay below freezing across about 80% of the nation and record lows have been set this morning in dozens of locations repeating a similar performance of yesterday morning. Perhaps even more important than any snow that falls from this upcoming storm will be the extreme cold that follows in the eastern US during the Thursday night to Saturday time period. Wind chills will reach dangerous sub-zero levels as winds gust to 50 mph or so in this late week time period and power outages are a concern. A relaxation in temperatures is likely to arrive in the Mid-Atlantic region by early next week, but there may be a wintry mix of rain, sleet and/or snow to accompany that “warm up”.
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Arctic cold will be relentless and punishing for much of the nation for several days to come and many areas will be experience some of the coldest weather in decades to begin a new year. In fact, the three week stretch from around December 20th to January 10th could be one of the coldest stretches we’ve had across much of the nation in a long, long time. A clipper system will drop southeastward and into the DC-to-Philly-to-NYC corridor on Saturday – likely with accumulating snow on the order of a dusting to an inch or two – and it will usher in the coldest Arctic air mass so far in this cold wave for the Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday time period. Indeed, average temperatures in the eastern two-thirds of the nation may be the coldest ever to start a new year in about 70 years of record keeping.
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Arctic cold will be relentless and punishing for much of the nation for several days to come and many areas will be experience some of the coldest weather in decades to begin a new year. In fact, the three week stretch from around December 20th to January 10th could be one of the coldest stretches we’ve had across much of the nation in a long, long time. A "clipper" system will drop southeastward and into the Mid-Atlantic region by Saturday – likely with some accumulating snow on the order of a dusting to an inch or two – and it will usher in brutally cold Arctic air for the Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday time period. Indeed, it will be frigid on New Year’s Eve at Times Square in New York City, for all activities on the National Mall in Washington, DC and it will be brutal for the Mummer’s Parade in Philly on Monday. Looking ahead, there may be a snow threat coming to the east coast during the middle or latter part of next week, but it is too early to say if this potential system develops close to the coast or too far off the coast.
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The weather pattern across the nation will become quite wild over the next couple of weeks with widespread bitter cold and multiple snow threats. After a mild and wet day on Saturday in the Mid-Atlantic region, a strong cold front will pass through the region and not only usher in a colder air mass, but begin a pattern change to more sustained cold. In fact, it looks like once this colder pattern sets up in the Mid-Atlantic region, it’ll stick around going well into the month of January. In addition to the upcoming cold, there are multiple snow threats going forward including a relatively minor one for the Mid-Atlantic region on Sunday night/early Monday and then a much bigger threat at the end of next week which could be followed by bitter cold air.
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The weather pattern across the nation will become quite wild over the next couple of weeks with widespread bitter cold and multiple snow threats. After a mild and wet day on Saturday in the Mid-Atlantic, a strong cold front will pass through the region and usher in a colder air mass for Christmas Eve (Sunday). In fact, it looks like once this colder pattern sets up in the Mid-Atlantic region, it’ll stick around going well into the month of January. In addition to the upcoming cold, there are likely to be multiple snow threats going forward including one for the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast US on Sunday night and early Monday (Christmas Day) and then another possible accumulating snow threat at the end of next week.
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After a mild and wet day on Saturday, a strong cold front will pass through the region and usher in a colder air mass for Christmas Eve (Sunday) and Christmas Day (Monday). In fact, it looks like once this colder pattern sets up in the Mid-Atlantic region, it’ll stick around for the next couple of weeks. Low pressure is likely to form near the coast late this weekend as the colder air filters into the I-95 corridor and this could generate more rain which could change to snow before ending; especially, in the northern Mid-Atlantic and Northeast US. Looking ahead and still in the "speculation" phase, there may be a nice setup at the end of next week for snow in the region.
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This is looking like a relatively quiet week across the country compared to last, but next week could turn out to be quite active with storm threats and brutal cold air is likely to plunge into the US from way up north. The bitter cold air mass will first arrive in the Northern Plains by this weekend and then it should spread across much of the rest of the nation during the early part of next week. “Teleconnection” signals support the notion that it turns very cold next week in much of the nation and the new year is likely to start in the deep freeze for many areas.
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Arctic air plunged into the Mid-Atlantic region late yesterday and temperatures today are well below-normal in DC, Philly and NYC. Meanwhile, a “clipper” low pressure system is dropping southeastward across the Upper Midwest and it should reach southwestern Pennsylvania by later tonight. As a result, snow is likely to break out later tonight in much of the Mid-Atlantic region; primarily, in areas to the north of the Mason-Dixon Line, but even the DC metro region can see some snow shower activity. Any snow that falls with this “clipper” system can quickly cause slippery conditions on untreated roadways given the very cold surface temperatures. Looking ahead to later this month, there are signals for continued cold air outbreaks into the eastern US – perhaps after a temporary milder stretch early next week – and the pattern may become quite stormy as well.
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The biggest weather story of the week in the Mid-Atlantic region is likely to be the bitter cold coming at mid-week because of its unusual nature for this time of year; however, there are also multiple waves of energy in the northern branch of the jet stream that can cause snow on numerous occasions during the upcoming five days or so. The first upper-level system to monitor is likely to generate some snow and/or rain shower activity in parts of the Mid-Atlantic region and there can be some snow squall activity as very cold air pours into the region later tomorrow into tomorrow night. After a very windy and cold day on Wednesday, a second wave of energy will drop southeast towards the Mid-Atlantic region on Thursday and it could generate some accumulating snow in a very cold air mass. Another snow threat will come late Friday into Saturday as a couple of waves of upper-level energy try to consolidate near the Mid-Atlantic coastline and the result could be some more snow for the I-95 corridor region from DC-to-Philly-to-NYC.
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