DC region prepares for icy conditions, bitter cold, as holiday winter storm nears – WTOP News

The D.C. area prepares for the arrival of a historic winter storm this vacation weekend, treating roads and calling on all drivers to be ready for icy street circumstances.

D.C. and Baltimore will escape the worst of the storm that barreled by way of the U.S. this week, however regular rain for many of Thursday will make roads slick earlier than frigid arctic air sweeps in Friday, threatening a widespread refreeze.

Wind chills will drop under 10 levels Friday afternoon and keep there till Sunday afternoon. Storm Team4 meteorologist Chuck Bell advises individuals and their pets to restrict time outdoors within the bitter chilly.

Earlier than the polar plunge arrives, heavy rain is anticipated Friday. A Flood Look ahead to the complete D.C. space is in impact from 11 a.m. Thursday till 1 a.m. Friday. As much as 2 inches of rain is anticipated and it’ll rain laborious sufficient at occasions to trigger excessive water in flood-prone areas and ponding on roadways.

He mentioned that exercise will gradual journey significantly, and advises constructing extra journey time into your schedule. Many areas West of Interstate 95 are under freezing Thursday morning, so there will probably be a interval of sleet or snow on the onset.

Minor accumulations are doable close to Dulles airport and areas west of the Blue Ridge. Alongside Interstate 81, 1 to three inches are doable and will trigger some slushy driving circumstances, Bell mentioned.

The heavy rain will finish Thursday night time and temperatures will keep within the 40s in a single day. Bell mentioned no refreeze is anticipated.

The Virginia Division of Transportation suggested drivers to keep away from journey on Thursday, primarily by way of the western areas of Virginia alongside the Interstate 81 hall.

“Intervals of heavy snow are anticipated alongside the northern sections of I-81 and the mountain passes, together with Interstate 64 over Afton Mountain and RT. 33 between Stanardsville and Harrisonburg early Thursday,” VDOT mentioned in a information launch.

VDOT crews pretreated roadways and interstates Wednesday in anticipation of the climate occasion.

“Motorists, if touring, ought to pack an emergency equipment and blankets, and have cell units totally charged within the occasion of a breakdown or emergency,” VDOT mentioned.

In Maryland, transportation division crews accomplished anti-icing operations in Allegany and Washington counties, which, as of 4 a.m. have been beneath a winter storm warning. The Nationwide Climate Service additionally issued winter climate advisories for Garrett and Washington counties that started at 4 a.m.

“Whereas we expect rain for a lot of the state, there’s a potential for icy circumstances within the increased mountain elevations,” Maryland Division of Transportation State Freeway Administration Administrator Tim Smith mentioned in a press release. “So, we encourage of us with journey plans heading west to be extraordinarily cautious and, if doable, delay their journeys a number of hours.”

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan mentioned the state activated its emergency response operations in anticipation of the winter climate. He known as for Marylanders to be ready and alter their plans as needed.

A Wind Chill Advisory for “parts of southeast Maryland and central, east central, japanese, north central, south central and southeast Virginia” has been issued for 7 p.m. Friday by way of 9 a.m. Saturday.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser mentioned the District Snow Staff plan to have 28 salt vans on standby beginning Friday morning in preparation for icy surfaces and lightweight snow Friday morning.

Residents are inspired to enroll in AlertDC updates and to verify on susceptible neighbors. These dwelling in D.C. can even obtain updates on street circumstances on AlertDC’s Twitter page.

Bell mentioned a “Siberian chilly entrance” will arrive earlier than midday Friday. He mentioned to count on a short interval of rain ending as snow between 5 a.m. and 11 a.m., earlier than temperatures nose-dive into the afternoon.

The D.C. space will probably be close to 50 levels at midnight, drop into the 40s by 7 a.m., drop under freezing by 10 a.m. and drop under 20 by 2 p.m.

In addition to the drop in temperatures, Bell mentioned to count on ferocious winds from the West that may gust close to 40-miles-per-hour from 8 a.m. to eight p.m. Friday, pushing wind chills under zero from 4 p.m. onward.

He mentioned any lingering puddles or rainfall runoff will probably be flash frozen by sundown on Friday, with journey being most harmful between Friday night and Saturday morning.

File-setting storm approaching?

Because the D.C. area prepares to enter the ice field earlier than the vacation weekend, the identical chilly blast is already setting information within the West. Might D.C. be subsequent to dig into the document books?

The chilly entrance rocketed by way of the Rockies and Entrance Vary Wednesday with such a drastic drop in temperatures that information are being set. The Nationwide Climate Service in Boulder, Colorado, indicated that Denver Worldwide Airport dropped from 42 levels to five levels (37-degree drop) in a single hour when the entrance got here by way of earlier Thursday.

If the information is confirmed, it could be the most important one-hour temperature drop in historical past for the D.C. space. The earlier document is a drop from 41 to six levels (35-degree temperature drop) in a single hour throughout the afternoon of Jan. 27, 2007.

That very same entrance is poised to brush to the East Coast later this week. Present traits point out the chilly entrance received’t lose any momentum because it pushes throughout the D.C. area Friday morning.

What is going to it take for Washington to set a document for largest temperature drop? The present document for quickest temperature drop in 24 hours is a lack of 47 levels from Dec. 22 at 6:51 a.m. to 24 hours afterward Dec. 23. The temperature dropped from 67 to twenty levels in that point span.

Present projections present temperatures late Thursday will probably be within the center 50s with the entrance anticipated to reach between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. Friday morning and drop to the decrease teenagers by late Friday night. Theoretically, the temperature might drop 43 levels in simply 24 hours from late Thursday to late Friday.

This might tie for the fifth largest drop in temperatures over a 24-hour interval for Reagan Nationwide Airport. The opposite two occasions when the temperature dropped 43 levels in 24-hours embody Jan. 19-20, 1996 and Feb. 7-8, 1951.

One of the simplest ways to decorate if you need to go outdoors throughout the upcoming Arctic blast is with a number of layers as a result of that traps physique warmth way more effectively than one thick layer.

Forecast

THURSDAY: Morning snow alongside Interstate 81, 1-3 inches anticipated. Rain throughout the realm by midday, 1-2 inches anticipated; Flood Look ahead to the complete D.C. space till late Thursday. Highs between 40 and 50.

THURSDAY NIGHT: Average rain, some showers after midnight. Temperatures within the low 40s to low 50s.

FRIDAY: Windy, plunging temperatures. Rain begins at 4 a.m., switches to snow round 8 a.m. earlier than ending round 11 a.m. Wind chills under 10 by midday. Temperatures start within the low 40s earlier than ending within the teenagers at night time.

CHRISTMAS EVE SATURDAY: Filtered sunshine. Bitter chilly, blustery. Highs within the excessive teenagers to mid 20s.

CHRISTMAS SUNDAY: Principally sunny. Breezy, bitter chilly. Highs within the mid 20s to low 30s.

Present circumstances

WTOP’s Alejandro Alvarez, Jose Umana and Chad Merrill contributed to this report.