People walk on the frozen Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Thursday. (Salwan Georges/The Washington Post)
* Wind chill advisory from this evening until noon Saturday *
Uncle. Sure, I started calling uncle a few days ago, but I really mean it now! This impressive bout of cold continues for a bit longer. The good news is it won’t be long until we can do a little thawing. Before that, plan on spending plenty of time inside, at least through Saturday night.
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Through tonight: Clear skies are the rule Friday evening and overnight. That’s a good recipe for maximizing cold, although we’ll still be contending with winds that keep the air a bit mixed. It’s silly cold this evening, with lows again ranging from near or just above zero to around 10. Winds will weaken a bit after sunset, but they’ll stay up around 10 to 15 mph with stronger gusts, which pushes wind chill back below zero for most of the night. Frostbite is a concern if you’re out long with uncovered skin.
View the current weather at The Washington Post.
Tomorrow (Saturday): The day dawns clear and largely stays that way. Of course, our friend the wind just won’t take a hike, and it picks up again compared with overnight. We’ll see sustained wind in the 15-to-20-mph zone, with gusts past 30 mph. That keeps wind chill in the single digits to near zero. Highs are similar to Friday, mainly near 20 or into the low 20s.
Sunday: Winds that finally calm down Saturday night may promote lows near or even below zero in a few spots, with a more common range of about 0 to 10. Sunday is relatively tranquil and slightly milder, with less wind and increasing clouds with time. Highs are in the mid-20s to near 30.
See Camden Walker’s forecast through the weekend. And if you haven’t already, join us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram. For related traffic news, check out Dr. Gridlock.
Record watch: We were close to record-low maximums Friday across the whole area, but only Dulles snagged the prize. Their previous low max record for the date was 21 in 1968. Friday’s high of 19 will take its place. Baltimore just barely missed its mark of 18 in 1896, with a high of 19. In Washington, we were a bit off the 18 also set in 1896. But the high of 21 was the coldest for the date at the current measuring location, and the coldest in Washington on the date since 1904.
Wind chill forecast through Sunday from the NAM 3km weather model. It shows mostly near- or below-zero wind chills through Saturday night. Some easing is expected Sunday, when wind chill rises to the single digits and teens.
As far as upcoming records go, it may be a case of close but not quite, in general.
However, Dulles (where the period of record goes to 1963 instead of the late 1800s, like the other locations) will try to snag at least one or two more. Record lows of 2 and 5 for Washington on Saturday and Sunday are probably out of reach, as are record-low maxes in the teens. Dulles may make a run at the record low Saturday of 4, set in 1999. There’s also a slight chance for the 1 on Sunday, which was reached in 2014. The record-low max for Saturday is 20, and that’s also possible to match. Baltimore won’t have it easy, but a record low of 5 (1904) on Saturday and 3 (2014) on Sunday may need to be watched.
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