WASHINGTON — Another year, another not-white Christmas. But what the region is lacking in snow, it receives in wind.
The National Weather Service issued a wind advisory for the D.C. region earlier in the day, with chances of wind gusts of over 50 mph. The wind chill is making the day feel much colder than it is.
Winds can down trees and power lines and litter the roadways with other debris, so travelers are advised to use caution.
Power outages were reported in the D.C. area on Monday morning, with at least 1,000 customers without power in D.C. at around 8 a.m. Below is a map of current power outages in the area.
For the most up-to-date look at the weather, check out the forecast on WTOP’s Weather page.
Here’s a look at the forecast:
Christmas Day: Mostly sunny but blustery and cold.
Highs: Upper 30s to 40, but wind chill makes it feel like the 20s.
Monday night: Partly cloudy, breezy and cold.
Lows: upper teens to mid 20s
There may not be snow, but at least this year won’t see a “green Christmas” like last year’s.
Temperatures are below average throughout the region. Wind chill makes the day feel even colder.
“This year will be blustery, cold and dry, with a piece of an Arctic air mass that will spread over most of the country. We’re looking at mostly clear skies but high temperatures will only be in the upper 30s to near 40, 5 to 10 degrees below average for across our area,” Ritter said.
Last year, WTOP reported that there had only been four years when the D.C. area had more than an inch of snow on the ground on Christmas in the past 50 years. The most recent was Christmas in 2009, a winter of several major snow storms, when the area had 6 inches of snow on the ground from a previous snowstorm.
WTOP’s Matt Ritter contributed to this report.
