Arctic chill continues into Christmas Day for DC area - WTOP

Christmas Eve was 1 of the coldest ones the District has ever experienced, and the arctic chill volition proceed into Christmas Day connected Sunday.

“With this monolithic Arctic aerial wide present afloat entrenched crossed overmuch of the nation, the Washington Capital Region volition not consciousness temperatures supra freezing earlier Monday astatine the earliest,” Storm Team4 meteorologist Clay Anderson said.

Areas good northbound and westbound of the metro country volition person to hold until Tuesday to acquisition temps supra freezing. It’s genuinely a Christmas vacation play for the grounds books.

Christmas Day volition beryllium astir arsenic cold, with highs adjacent 30 degrees, but person acold little of a breeze to contend with. Most areas volition get supra to freezing connected Monday afternoon, beryllium adjacent 35 degrees connected Tuesday and get backmost to 40 degrees by Thursday.

“I deliberation the important happening is for radical to enactment harmless and conscionable due to the fact that the prima is out, don’t measurement connected the state due to the fact that erstwhile you deed that crystal it doesn’t substance whether it’s sunny oregon not, the car is going to slide,” said Anderson.

The mean somesthesia connected Saturday enactment it successful the ranks with Dec. 24, 1989 arsenic the coldest Christmas Eves connected grounds successful D.C.

Reagan National Airport’s Christmas Eve upwind almanac showcasing mean and utmost temperatures for December 24. Circled are the 2 records that volition beryllium challenged this year. (Courtesy National Regional Climate Center)

Wind harm was a large occupation Friday, with winds gusting astatine 55 mph astatine Dulles International, 69 mph astatine the Bay Bridge and 56 mph successful the District. The inclement upwind caused aggregate delays connected obstruction services, including MARC bid and Amtrak, portion trees toppled implicit successful country neighborhoods.

“We are truthful acold beneath freezing, we are beneath zero, and truthful galore areas, and that’s conscionable thing that we don’t spot excessively often astir our area,” Storm Team4 Chief Meteorologist Doug Kammerer told WTOP.

Ironically, Washington’s mean somesthesia truthful acold successful December up until Thursday nighttime – earlier the acold blast arrived – was astir identical to the humanities mean for Dec. 1 done 22 of 42.6 degrees; D.C.’s mean somesthesia during this clip scope successful 2022 was 42.2 degrees.

For those yearning for warmer weather, the upwind signifier volition flip-flop precocious adjacent week. The beardown stratospheric polar vortex is going to nexus up with the troposphere – wherever the upwind occurs – and vessel the acold aerial backmost up successful the Arctic portion the U.S. undergoes important warming. The modulation time into the warmer signifier could bring the D.C. portion its archetypal flurries during the midweek.

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Outages

As temperatures proceed to tumble, immoderate residents person experienced powerfulness outages starring into the weekend.

Pepco reported conscionable nether 70 customers successful Montgomery County, Maryland without power. In addition, Baltimore Gas and Electric company said that adjacent to 40 homes successful Prince George’s County and astir 170 much successful Anne Arundel County were successful the dark.

Outages person besides been reported successful Northern Virginia, where Dominion Energy reported betwixt 380 customers successful Loudoun County and implicit 250 successful Fairfax County customers without power.

If you get caught without power, Dominion Energy spokeswoman Peggy Fox says to marque oregon drawback your exigency kit, occurrence up your generator if you person one, and cheque successful connected your neighbors. If each other fails, battalion a container and effort to safely brave the roads.

“It is bully to cognize wherever your medicine is. While it’s airy outside, marque definite you stitchery things together,” Fox said. “Check connected your neighbors … cheque connected your loved ones. Please marque definite you person plans to spell determination other if it gets excessively acold successful your house.”

Make definite you besides study the outage to your section vigor provider.

For those dealing with powerfulness outages and debased heat, Chief Spokesperson for Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service Pete Piringer says that you should plan, particularly connected the roadways.

Forecast

Sunday, Christmas Day: Mostly sunny, bitter acold and breezy astatine times. Highs successful the mid-20s to 30 degrees. Winds: West 8-18 mph. Wind chills volition beryllium adjacent 15 degrees.

Monday: Mostly sunny and cold. Highs successful the precocious 20s to mid-30s. Winds: Northwest 5-10 mph. Wind chills volition beryllium successful the mid-20s.

Tuesday: Partly cloudy with highs astir 40 degrees.

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