WASHINGTON — The first, full workweek after the holidays will feature a single-digit start for most of the area during the Monday morning rush and, quite possibly, some defrosting of the windshields will need to be done.
High pressure will have settled in Sunday night, allowing for mainly clear skies and calm winds, leading to the bottom falling out of the thermometer (also due to the presence of the snowpack).
This dome of high pressure will depart the area Monday evening; and while a new one drops from central Canada into the middle of the country, a big warm-up will set up in the East, including our area.
A significant ridge in the jet stream winds aloft will take shape, and gradually southwest flow at the surface and aloft will bring in warmer temperatures. A deep trough (dip) will form in the middle of the country, keeping cold storminess out west.
The jet stream will send several disturbances our way this week bringing several chances for precipitation. The first disturbance will affect us on Tuesday mainly with cloudy skies. A swath of rain possibly mixed in with sleet and freezing rain will skirt the Pennsylvania state line. Some northern Maryland areas could pick up some of this up, but it will be close.
The rest of the area will start getting back above freezing. Then rain will move in Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. Another disturbance will do the same roughly 24 hours later and with even warmer temperatures.
A strong cold front will finally break the pattern down on Friday, and the arctic high pressure system in the middle of the country will shift to eastern Canada. Northerly winds will filter in much colder air late in the day Friday and that scenario will last into the weekend.
Daily weather highlights
Monday
- Frigid and possibly frosty start
- Not as blustery but still below freezing for most of us all day
- Lots of mid- and high-level clouds
Tuesday
- Overcast and still chilly, but closer to seasonable
- Some snow or ice probable just north of the area in Pennsylvania into New England
- Areas with the thickest snowpack start getting slushy from snowmelt
- Patchy fog
Wednesday
- Light rain and drizzle in the morning
- Cloudy and damp the rest of the day
- Milder than average
- Most if not all the area’s snowpack melted
Thursday
- More light rain and drizzle, most likely in the morning
- Temperatures well above average, feeling almost springlike
Friday
- Mix of clouds and sun
- Unseasonable warmth continues, but temperatures start dropping again late in the day
Editor’s note: The WTOP Workweek Weather Blog is intended as an in-depth yet plain language summary of the business week’s weather potential in the D.C. area along with an explanation of the contingencies and uncertainties that exist at the time of publication. For the latest, actual Storm Team 4 Forecast, check out the WTOP Weather Page.