DELMARVA FORECAST
Thursday night: Cold and breezy. Winds from the west at 10 to 15 mph. Lows in the low 20s will feel like around 10°F at times.
Friday: Mostly sunny, cold, and breezy. Winds from the west at 10 to 15 mph. Highs in the upper 30s.
Saturday: Cloudy and milder. A chance for a few snow showers early, becoming light rain showers. Highs in the low 50s. Chance of precipitation 30 percent.
Sunday: Snow possible. Cold. Highs in the mid 30s. Chance of snow 50 percent.
Monday: Mostly sunny, cold, and breezy. Highs in the mid 30s.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny and very cold. Highs in the mid 20s.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny and cold. Highs in the mid 30s.
FORECAST DISCUSSION
Normal high: 45°F. Normal low: 28°F.
A strong cold front has cleared Delmarva and has escorted in much colder air. Temperatures Thursday afternoon have been running 10 to 20 degrees colder than they were at the same time Wednesday.
We will keep skies clear and sunny, but cold into Friday with a gusty west wind. Heavier jackets, hats and gloves will be necessary with afternoon highs in the upper 30s feeling like only about 30°F at times.
A weak upper disturbance will bring more clouds into the region on Saturday. Some showers could start off as snow showers early in the day, but will quickly transition to plain rain showers as temperatures climb to near 50°F thanks to a wind shift to the southwest. Rain showers should be widely scattered and mainly light.
Then attention turns to Sunday, when forecast guidance wants to spin up a low pressure area near the Gulf Coast and bring it up the East Coast as a nor'easter. Confidence is very low at this point, and there has been little agreement with the models, with some keeping the low far enough offshore to minimize wintry weather threats, and some bringing in enough warmer air that despite heavier precipitation, it will be more on the plain rain side.
Either way, Sunday looks like it could be a snowy or rainy day; watch this space for forecast updates in the coming days.
Then temperatures have trended colder for the beginning of next week. Despite sunshine, we're only looking at highs in the 20s and 30s, and lows well down into the teens for Monday through Wednesday.
In the long range, temperatures are expected to average below normal, and precipitation above normal for January 22 - January 28.