The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

P.M. Update: Very cold tonight ahead of a frozen Saturday, then a slight thaw for Sunday

January 21, 2022 at 4:30 p.m. EST

Radar courtesy MyRadar | © OpenStreetMap contributors

Today was the coldest we’ve seen in Washington since January 2019. We notched our first high in the 20s since that month. Out west at Dulles, the high in the low 20s was the coldest in three years. Increased clouds this afternoon are thanks to a storm system passing by to our south. It’s causing plenty of wintry weather across the Carolinas and into Southeast Virginia.

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Through Tonight: Clouds tend to rule this evening and into the early overnight. They should provide a pretty sunset for parts of the region. Snow from the storm to our south gets as close as Southern Maryland, where places in St. Mary’s County may see a coating to an inch or so. Look for more clearing late night through dawn, as lows range from about 10 to 17.

View the current weather at The Washington Post.

Tomorrow (Saturday): There should be a good deal of sun through the day. Perhaps some cloud increase before sunset. Despite a slight increase in “warmth” from today, high temperatures are still near or a bit below freezing. Fortunately, winds are pretty light.

Sunday: A thaw is a thaw, even if it’s barely a thaw. Keep that in mind, as we sit under partly cloudy skies and readings move above freezing for at least a few hours. Temperatures try for the mid- and upper 30s for highs.

See A. Camden Walker’s forecast through the beginning of next week. And if you haven’t already, join us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram. For related traffic news, check out Gridlock.

Cold: As I noted a few days ago, we’re into the coldest time of year on average in D.C. The average temperature of 37 continues for one more day before rising to 37.1 on the 23rd. Today was also the first day of our coldest lows of the year, with 29.5 running today through the 26th.

Right on time, the forecast calls for the coldest night of winter thus far. The average coldest temperature of the year is about 12 degrees. Washington hasn’t been below that since 2019.

Retired NWS climatologist Robert Leffler pointed out in an email that Canaan Valley in West Virginia bottomed out at minus-13 today. He suspects that area will reach minus-20 tonight. “Only 125 miles exactly due west of D.C. as the crow flies,” he wrote.

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