7:00 AM | ***Bitter cold arrives overnight and lasts through Wednesday night***
Paul Dorian
6-Day Forecast
Today
Mostly cloudy, breezy, milder, a few rain and snow showers possible, temperatures peak in the low 40's this morning and then crash this afternoon
Tonight
More bitter cold with partly cloudy skies, lows in the single digits by morning
Tuesday
Brutal cold despite sunshine, mid-to-upper teens for highs with sub-zero wind chills
Tuesday Night
Extreme cold with clear skies and lows in the single digits
Wednesday
Still very cold with mostly cloudy skies, low 20's for highs
Thursday
Mostly sunny, cold, but not as harsh, low 30's
Friday
Mostly sunny, breezy, cold, upper 30’s
Saturday
Mostly cloudy, cold, chance for rain or snow, near 40
Discussion
An air mass that originated in Siberia and then crossed over the North Pole into north-central Canada has now plunged into the Upper Midwest/Great Lakes region and it'll create bitter cold conditions around here in the Mid-Atlantic region from tonight through Wednesday night. The core of this brutally cold air mass will be centered over the Upper Midwest/Great Lakes where the temperature departures from normal will be the greatest; however, extreme cold from this Siberian air mass will extend all the way to the east coast and down to the Deep South. This cold air outbreak could be record-breaking in many parts of the Upper Midwest/Great Lakes and it will no doubt generate more single digit lows around here in the I-95 corridor over the next couple of nights. Amazingly, about 50% of the Great Lakes are now covered by ice and the normal peak of 40% is usually not reached until early March! Also, the Deep South/Southeast US will likely experience frozen precipitation from Tuesday into Wednesday all the way from Texas to southeastern Virginia and there can even be significant snowfall in some sections of the Carolinas. The storm that will generate that frozen precipitation mess for the Deep South/Southeast US will have to monitored closely around here in the I-95 corridor as it'll come awfully close on Wednesday to our southeastern sections.
The good news is that temperatures in the short-term can only go up from here following this air mass as it is the coldest air in all of North America. As a result, even if our air flow were to come from the north later this week, it is inevitable that we would see an increase in temperatures. Indeed, temperatures will modify noticeably later this week and there is even the chance for 40 degrees in parts of the Mid-Atlantic region by this weekend. Longer term, the cold pattern will very likely return to the Mid-Atlantic region for the month of February which looks to be rather stormy and cold.
Video
httpv://youtu.be/bJCZapmFQIA