We’ll continue to put Monday’s cold snap in the rear view on Wednesday as temperatures continue to trend warmer with high pressure moving eastward. Temperatures will fall to the mid-30s overnight, but increasing cloud cover should keep a lid on further radiational cooling and keep us above freezing. From there, we’ll warm into the low-to-mid-60s as the cloud deck continues to thicken courtesy of a coastal trough taking shape offshore.

While it won’t be as windy as it was on Monday morning, we still have quite a frigid start queued up for Tuesday as lows drop back to the low 20s in the morning, with some upper teens possible closer to and west of I-95. However, with high pressure beginning to slip to the east, we’ll start to see temperatures begin to moderate in the afternoon as mostly sunny skies prevail. While the forecast high of 54° remains well below normal for this point in December, it will feel tropical in comparison to Monday’s high of 39° at the airport (which ties the record cold high temperature first set in 1942).

The well-advertised cold snap is underway as Arctic air pushes into the area, with air temperatures expected to fall to around 20° in the morning. While the most gusty winds should subside overnight, a 10-15 MPH breeze out of the north will continue to drive wind chills down well into the teens, with the potential for some brief sub-10° readings as well. A Cold Weather Advisory will run until 10am Monday to cover the most bitter cold, but it will still be a very chilly day with highs struggling to break 40° under mostly sunny skies. Winds will be slackening a little throughout the day, but still should be elevated enough to make it feel more like the mid-30s. Layer up and ensure pets, pipes, plants, and people are protected.

My advice to folks for this weekend: get out and about Saturday as much as you can, soaking in what passes for warmth during this rather chilly December, because another shot of very cold air is enroute to start the new week.

Saturday starts in the low-to-mid-40s, warmest near the coast. Southwesterly flow around high pressure to our east will help drive temperatures into the mid-to-upper 60s in the afternoon with just a few clouds at times. It’s going to be a pretty nice day, so get out and enjoy it!

The front arrives Sunday. A few showers are possible out ahead of the front, but many of us may stay rain-free. The front itself passes through around midday or so, and we should see temperatures begin to fall off in the afternoon. We’ll peak in the upper 50s to around 60° relatively early in the day as a result. Once the sun goes down, temperatures will plummet below freezing by midnight and will continue to fall heading into Monday morning.