WASHINGTON – The first Monday of the new year – Jan. 4 — will be a cold one and may be jolting to those who enjoyed December’s warm temperatures.
Storm Team4 says Monday’s temperatures won’t climb out of the 30s, and with blustery winds it will feel as if it’s in the 20s.
“That’s not only below average by several degrees, but it would be the coldest day we’ve had since last March — March 6th,” says Storm Team4 meteorologist Steve Prinzivalli.
The cold day follows December’s mild weather, which made area golf courses busier than usual and saw diners eating outdoors at Georgetown restaurants on Christmas Eve.
The cold air should stick around through Tuesday.
“It looks like it’s in with this cold air, briefly, and then right back into a milder than average pattern for the second half of the upcoming work week,” Prinzivalli says.
The temperature is expected to be back in the 50s on Saturday.
Children who got sleds and coasters under their Christmas trees will have to be content with waxing the blades, imagining snow and waiting.
“There’s not that chunk of cold air that we need to have to get snow across the mid-Atlantic and northeast,” Prinzivalli explains.
The nation’s weather has been under the influence of El Niño – a mass of warm surface water in the Pacific Ocean that has helped bring us milder weather. But snow lovers eager for sledding and skiing may still have their day later this winter.
“We do expect the El Niño to continue to weaken as we head through the winter and I believe that’s going to open up the gates for some colder weather and some opportunity for some snowfall,” Prinzivalli says.
