- Today: Morning rain and snow showers. Windy. Highs: 40s to teens (rapid fall).
- Tonight: Mainly clear. Frigid wind chills below zero. Lows: 7 to 12.
- Tomorrow: Partly sunny, gusty. Highs: Around 20 to mid-20s.
- Sunday: Mostly sunny, breezy. Highs: Mid-20s to near 30.
Wind gusts today top out around at least 40 mph and may hit 50 mph as the front passes the region. With rapidly falling temperatures on those winds, we may have some flash-frozen ice patches to contend with, but we’re not expecting major problems. Note that wind plus temperatures falling equal wind chills close to zero degrees by day’s end. Our coldest wind chills in quite a while bottom out tomorrow night at several degrees below zero.
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Today (Friday): Passage of the Arctic front in the morning means temperatures fall all day. We’re near or even above 40 at sunrise into early morning, then the teens near sunset. Winds gust around 40 to 50 mph as the front passes, perhaps strongest in any showers.
A swath of rain showers — some possibly heavy, maybe with thunder? — may mix with or even change to snow as it ends by late morning. It’s not impossible someone gets a quick dusting or so. Despite little to no accumulation, patchy wet spots may flash-freeze (beware of ice!) as skies trend clearer in the afternoon and we dry out. Confidence: Medium-High
Tonight: Strong west winds may continue to gust around 30 mph. Wind chills dip below zero around sunset and head close to minus-10 by morning. Skies are mostly clear. Actual low temperatures on the thermometer fall into the upper single digits west and northwest of town. Downtown may stay at or just above 10 degrees. Be careful if outside for long, please. Confidence: Medium-High
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Tomorrow (Saturday): Westerly winds still may gust above 25 mph, creating wind chills that are slow to climb above zero in the morning hours. Most spots should top out in the 20-to-25-degree range. (D.C. may tie or beat the record-coldest high temperature of 23 degrees from 1989.) Skies should remain fairly clear, although some cloud buildup may occur midday. Confidence: Medium-High
Tomorrow night: Skies turn mostly clear, so be sure to look for the crescent moon sliver, plus Venus on the western horizon at dusk. All of us should drop into the teens for low temperatures before dawn. Fortunately, winds come down a bit. Confidence: Medium-High
Christmas Day (Sunday): Sunshine dominates, but wind chills are still in the teens. At least our “warming” trend gets high temperatures into the mid-20s to near 30 degrees. West and northwesterly wind gusts are slightly less intense but still may top out near 25 mph at times. Just continue to bundle up, if you have to be out. Confidence: Medium
Sunday night: Skies are expected to be nearly clear with west-northwesterly breezes diminishing quickly after sunset, as it looks now. The entire region should bottom out in the teens. Brrr. Continue to bundle up! Confidence: Medium
Temperatures continue to “warm” Monday and Tuesday, with highs at least in the 30s. We may even crack the 40-degree mark on Tuesday. Mid- and high-level clouds could arrive late Monday and last into Tuesday. Breezes and wind chills may be the tamest we’ve seen since the Arctic front moved through. Stay tuned for slight tweaks to the cloud levels and temperature forecast as we get closer. Confidence: Medium
A daily assessment of the potential for at least 1 inch of snow in the next week, on a 0-10 scale.
1/10 (→): Snow showers Friday morning may bring patchy coatings. Nothing on the horizon afterward.