Winter’s official start date is a few days away, but it seems to have made a very early entrance. And the chilly, blustery weather will stick around for a while.
On Thursday, temperatures will reach the mid-30s, but wind chills are in the 5- to 15-degree range, said Storm Team4 meteorologist Chuck Bell. The winds will die down later in the afternoon.
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“You can thank (or blame) Canada for this. High pressure from Hudson Bay has been blowing into the area all night and we will stay much colder than the average for the next several days because of it,” Bell said.
Bundle up — and don’t let the sunshine fool you on the way out. There will be 100% sunshine Thursday but with the winter solstice nearing, that only means a total of nine hours and 27 minutes of daylight, says Bell.
Blustery and cold today, despite sunshine. pic.twitter.com/Efe5qhFYvx
— NWS DC/Baltimore (@NWS_BaltWash) December 19, 2019
Forecast
Expect a bitter cold early Friday morning. The urban areas of the D.C. region will be in the low 20s while the rural areas and valleys will see as low as the mid-10s.
A high temperature of 40 is expected through the day.
There is a silver lining to all the cold: There will be no weather worries for travelers from the D.C. area and northward, Bell said. However, there will be a heavy rain threat for most of Florida, Georgia, Alabama and the Carolinas.
Related: Christmas, New Year’s airport travel rush starts this weekend
Thursday: Sunny, cold and breezy. Wind chills from 15 to 25. Highs in the mid-30s.
Thursday night: Clears skies, light wind and very cold. Lows in the mid-20s.
Friday: Sunny and cold with a light breeze. Highs reach the 40s.
Saturday: Partly sunny and cold with a light breeze. Highs in the low-40s.
Sunday: Partly cloudy with a light breeze, but not as cold. Highs in the upper-40s.
