DC Area Forecast: Cold and calm today, then rainy tomorrow ahead of Arctic attack

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A somewhat subjective rating of today’s weather, on a scale of 0 to 10.

6/10: Too high, you say, for the sunny but cold 1940s? Just wait what will happen.

• Today: Generally sunny and cool, light winds. Treble: low to mid 40s.
• This evening: Growing clouds, late winter mix? Low: 20s greater than 30s.
• Tomorrow: First mix north and west? Rain, sometimes heavy. Treble: 40s.

Today is the day to prepare for the biting cold and the wind that arrives on Friday and lasts all weekend, especially since tomorrow promises to be rainy. It’s not exactly hot today, with highs only in the 40s, but it’s not terrible, with mostly sunny skies and light winds. Our northern and western suburbs could see a touch of wintery mix early tomorrow morning before turning to rain, then early Friday is when the Arctic front passes, sending us into the freezer for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. .

Today (Wednesday): Another chill out there as we start from low this morning in the low 20s to near 30s. Lots of sunshine doing its best raising afternoon highs into the mid 40s with light winds. Confidence: High

This evening: Clouds are increasing this evening, then skies become mostly cloudy overnight as low pressure builds towards our south. Light rain or a winter mix could arrive in our southern and western suburbs around 4 a.m. Overnight lows range from upper 20s to mid 30s. Confidence: Medium-High

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Tomorrow (Thursday): A brief period of winter mixing is possible, mostly north and west of DC, before about 9 a.m., but any significant ice issues should be confined north of Frederick and west of Leesburg. For the metropolitan area, this turns into a rainy day, with increasing rain cover in the morning and sometimes heavy from afternoon to evening. Afternoon temperatures are expected to rise into the 40s as winds turn gusty from the southeast in the late afternoon through evening. Confidence: medium

Tomorrow evening: The rain moves from west to east during the evening hours, but the sky remains cloudy throughout the night. Temperatures fluctuate between the mid 40s and low 50s thanks to a relatively gentle breeze from the south. Confidence: medium

Gusty rain showers arrive early Friday, between about 6 a.m. and noon, eventually ending in snow showers. Can’t rule out a light coating on the grass, especially north and west of DC Main story is falling temperatures and gusty winds. Most of us start the day in our 40s, but we’re in our 20s at around 30 around lunchtime, and in our teens at around 20 in the late afternoon or evening with a clear sky. Gusts of westerly winds, usually around 30-40mph with a few gusts to around 50mph possible, should dry things out pretty well. But any remaining wetlands will definitely freeze (what we call a “snap freeze”) from afternoon to evening. Confidence: medium

Friday night winds continue to blow near or above 30 mph with mostly clear skies. Nighttime lows drop to the upper digits until mid-teens, with wind chills down to the single digits down to around minus 5 degrees. Confidence: medium-high

Christmas weekend is partly to mostly sunny and absolutely freezing. Both days start with morning lows in the upper single digits through the mid-teens, before struggling to reach afternoon highs in the 20s to near 30s. Saturday, blowing from the west at around 20-30 mph, keeps wind chills in the single digits and teens all day long. Not as windy on Sunday, but still enough breeze to keep the wind chill from passing teens near 20s. Confidence: medium to high

High temperatures are expected to recover in the 30s to near 40s on Monday and Tuesday.

A daily rating of the potential for at least 1 inch of snow next week, on a scale of 0 to 10.

1/10 (→): As the arctic front crosses the region early Friday, rain showers could turn into snow showers before ending. We don’t usually see buildup in situations like this, but we can’t rule out a light coating on the grass, especially north and west of DC.