January 17, 2025 Friday Winter Weather

Nice blanket of snowfall for the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast prior to Polar Vortex

Good Evening!

As anticipated over the past few days, temperatures in Washington D.C. were trending downwards on Monday with at most 20s for high temperatures. However, the “polar vortex” front crashes through during the day so temperatures at Noon and into the afternoon would likely be in the teens — I’d say 18°F with wind chills in the single digits. Sensible decision to move the festivities indoors rather than on the National Mall, which would be covered in 3-4” of freshly fallen snowfall.

On the other hand, the Philadelphia NFL playoff game vs. the Los Angeles Rams will be played outdoors in snowy and cold conditions on Sunday afternoon. Temperatures in the 20s with 3-5” of snowfall.

Snowfall Season to Date — Since October 2024

Look at the last 21-days. In mid-December, had someone showed you this snowfall map as the forecast, then you’d probably think they were crazy. While there are some holes/gaps in some locations like NYC, Boston, and the Midwest, for an expected “warm winter” this would be a huge surprise.

And, over the next 2 weeks of January, we’re going to work hard on filling in this map!

Nice blanket of snowfall for the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast prior to Polar Vortex

I’m shocked to see such high numbers from NWS of 7” to 10” from the Maryland state line through Pennsylvania into New England. Snowfall next 3-days:

More Lake Effect snowfall, of course.

And, some decent accumulation in Denver > 6”. All prior to the arrival of the extreme cold with the Arctic blast = nice blanket for enhanced overnight cooling.

Why so much snowfall from NWS?

The new ECMWF 18z update only has very light snowfall for the mid-Atlantic and Northeast. Of course, there’s a stripe from Houston to Tallahassee — yikes — but focusing on the next few days shows remarkably light accumulations where NWS has so much more.