DELMARVA FORECAST
Monday night: Partly cloudy and cold. Lows in the low to mid 20s.
Christmas Eve: Mostly cloudy with a few showers in the morning. A brief period of freezing rain is possible. Highs in the mid 40s. Chance of precipitation 20 percent.
Christmas Day: Mostly cloudy. Highs in the mid 40s.
Thursday: Partly cloudy. Highs in the low to mid 40s.
Friday: Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 40s.
Saturday: Increasing clouds. Highs in the low to mid 50s.
Sunday: Cloudy with rain late. Highs in the mid 50s. Chance of rain 40 percent.
Monday: Rain early. Mild. Highs in the upper 50s. Chance of rain 40 percent.
FORECAST DISCUSSION
Normal high: 48°F. Normal low: 30°F.
A broad ridge of Arctic high pressure has brought sunny skies, but cold temperatures to Delmarva on this Monday. Below-normal temperatures are expected through Thursday.
We're expecting another cold overnight, with partly to mostly clear skies and temperatures falling into the low to mid 20s.
The high slides to the east Tuesday as a weak front swings down Tuesday morning, setting up parts of the Mid-Atlantic for a little bit of icy weather. As the front crosses the region, winds aloft shifting to the southeast will bring warmer temperatures, but not so much at the surface, where temperatures in the morning will be well below freezing. This is a setup for freezing rain. Icy conditions will be mostly likely along the I-95 corridor, from Wilmington to Baltimore to Washington D.C. to just west of the Virginia Tidewater, so keep that in mind if you will be traveling in that direction early Tuesday morning.
On Delmarva, ice is not very likely as the rain will mostly dissipate by the time it reaches the peninsula, and temperatures at the ground surface will have warmed to above freezing as well. However, I don't want to rule out a brief period of ice on bridges and overpasses, especially on the Midshore and in Delaware.
Otherwise, our Christmas Eve will be mostly cloudy and chilly, with highs only reaching the mid 40s.
Christmas Day will feature a mix of clouds and sun with chilly afternoon highs in the mid 40s.
Then high pressure builds in again for the latter half of the week, with mostly sunny skies Thursday through early Saturday, and gradually moderating temperature reaching the upper 40s Friday and low 50s Saturday.
Longer-range guidance is suggesting a substantial rain event Sunday night into next Monday morning. This is a week away, so confidence is low on the timing and amounts of rain we could see.
