It’ll be slightly colder today in the DC metro region on the back side of a frontal passage and sun will give way to increasing clouds as low pressure organizes over the Upper Midwest. A warm front will extend well to the east of the low pressure system and it’ll push in our direction later tonight spreading rain into the region that should last through much of the day on Friday. Rain has been a rare commodity in the Mid-Atlantic region during the month of January which has been drier-than-normal in the local area with a deficit of 1.41 inches. Temperatures during the day on Friday will climb into the 50’s, and then it turns moderately cold again to begin the weekend.
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NASA’s satellite-based MERRA-2 climate model is forecasting temperatures to drop to their lowest levels since before 1978 in the polar stratosphere and this might just result in a major outbreak of rarely seen colorful polar stratospheric clouds. Normally, the stratosphere has no clouds at all; however, when the temperature drops to around -85 C (188 K) or below, water molecules can coalesce into ice crystals and form polar stratospheric clouds – even in the very dry part of the upper atmosphere.
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It turns milder today with afternoon high temperatures likely near the 60-degree mark as high pressure intensifies to the east of here. While showers are possible during the next couple of days, it’ll stay quite mild with temperatures reaching 60+ degrees for highs. The weekend is looking pretty nice for the beginning of February with dry and mild conditions likely across the northern part of Alabama.
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A strong cold front will approach from the northwest today – the second such system in two days – and winds will pick up in intensity possibly gusting to 50 mph or so. There is the chance for a couple of afternoon rain showers as the cold front comes through the area and it’ll become milder. However, it turns colder on Thursday and clouds will increase later in the day as low pressure strengthens over the Upper Midwest. A warm front will extend well to the east of the low pressure system and it can spread precipitation into the area for late Thursday night and Friday. At the onset, it may be just cold enough for a brief time for the rain to freeze on some surfaces in suburban locations. Temperatures during the day on Friday will climb to well above freezing levels (into the middle 40’s) assuring “plain” rain as we close out the work week.
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A strong cold front will approach from the northwest today – the second such system in two days – and winds will pick up in intensity possibly gusting to 50 mph or so. There is the chance for an isolated afternoon rain shower, but most of the precipitation will stay to the north of here and it’ll become quite mild with afternoon highs not far from 60 degrees. However, it turns colder on Thursday and clouds will increase later in the day as low pressure intensifies over the Upper Midwest. A warm front will extend well to the east of the low pressure system and spread rain into the area late Thursday night and on Friday. Temperatures should climb well up into the 50’s on Friday to go along with the occasional rainfall, and then it turns moderately cold again this weekend.
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The dry weather pattern of late will continue for the next few days and there will be a noticeable warming trend later in the week. Temperatures later today and on Thursday will peak in the middle-to-upper 40’s, but they’ll likely climb to the 60-degree mark by the latter part of the upcoming weekend.
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A strong cold front will approach from the northwest today – the second such system in two days – and winds will pick up in intensity possibly gusting to 50 mph or so. There is the chance for a couple of afternoon rain showers as the cold front comes through the area and it’ll turn milder with afternoon highs near 50 degrees. However, it turns colder on Thursday and clouds will increase later in the day as low pressure strengthens over the Upper Midwest. A warm front will extend well to the east of the low pressure system and it can spread rain into the area for late Thursday night and Friday. At the onset of the precipitation, it may be just cold enough for a brief time for the rain to freeze on some surfaces across the northern and western suburbs. Temperatures during the day on Friday will climb to well above freezing levels (into the upper 40’s) assuring “plain” rain as we close out the work week.
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Today marks the 39th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster which occurred on January 28, 1986, when the NASA Space Shuttle orbiter Challenger (mission STS-51-L) broke apart 73 seconds into its flight leading to the deaths of its seven crew members. STS-51-L was the 25th American Space Shuttle Program flight since the program began in 1981. It was also the first mission to have a civilian on board, American teacher Christa McAuliffe. The spacecraft disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida at 11:39 EST (16:39 UTC). According to the Report of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident, weather conditions were likely one of the factors that contributed to the incident. Tests conducted during the subsequent investigation showed that O-rings were much less resilient at lower temperatures, but the extreme cold at the Kennedy Space Center was not the only weather factor involved with this tragedy. Wind shear aloft may have been a contributing factor as well with two different airstreams in the vicinity of the launch site of the Space Shuttle Challenger.
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Winds will be rather strong for much of today in the Mid-Atlantic region with gusts up to 35 mph or so; however, a more intense and longer-lasting wind event is in store for late tonight and Wednesday associated with the next strong cold frontal system. That next cold front will be trailing a “clipper” low pressure system that passes by to the north on Wednesday, and it can help to generate 50 mph wind gusts from late tonight into late Wednesday. In terms of precipitation, there can be some snow shower/snow squall activity on Wednesday afternoon as this next cold front arrives and, as with today’s frontal system, most of the activity will be limited to the northern Mid-Atlantic.
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A couple of strong cold frontal systems dropping southeastward from Canada will impact the northeastern states both today and on Wednesday. The first of these fronts can cause strong winds around here today and there can be some snow shower activity...perhaps even a heavier snow squall. The second front can produce more strong winds here on Wednesday with gusts past 45 mph and some rain or snow shower activity as well as it passes through the region. Low pressure to our west will try to push a warm front through the area later this week and there can be some rain from late Thursday into Friday.
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