December 22-23, 2022: Warm Rain to Arctic Chill

[Eskimo Joe]

Meso models are absolutely insistently on a core of 925/850 winds hitting Baltimore region around 12z to 15z. Even BUFKIT has some 70 - 90kt winds just off the deck tomorrow morning.

[CAPE]

Power outages just ahead of Arctic cold would not be good.

I am gonna have the wood stove heating the whole place all weekend. Heat pump should never kick on if I keep it going.

[IronTy]

7 minutes ago, CAPE said:

Power outages just ahead of Arctic cold would not be good.

I am gonna have the wood stove heating the whole place all weekend. Heat pump should never kick on if I keep it going.

My wood stove is going full blast right now . Unfortunately so is my heat pump.  Just can't win.  

[Interstate]

Awwww man. I can’t have any fun. 

[CAPE]

2 minutes ago, IronTy said:

My wood stove is going full blast right now . Unfortunately so is my heat pump.  Just can't win.  

The size/layout/openness of my house plus location of ceiling fans and thermostat make it all work. Nice convection. Spare bedroom and workout room can get a little cold but not a problem in most cases.

[WxUSAF]

19 minutes ago, Eskimo Joe said:

Meso models are absolutely insistently on a core of 925/850 winds hitting Baltimore region around 12z to 15z. Even BUFKIT has some 70 - 90kt winds just off the deck tomorrow morning.

You’re saying blizzard. Got it.

[Interstate]

3 minutes ago, CAPE said:

The size/layout/openness of my house plus location of ceiling fans and thermostat make it all work. Nice convection. Spare bedroom and workout room can get a little cold but not a problem in most cases.

Can’t use the wood stove right now. It is almost 50 degrees here in 21057

[CAPE]

2 minutes ago, Interstate said:

Can’t use the wood stove right now. It is almost 50 degrees here in 21057

52 here. I won't be using mine until tomorrow afternoon.

[Terpeast]

Stuck at 38 all day. IAD went to 46, and I'm only 9 miles from there.

[Eskimo Joe]

3 minutes ago, Terpeast said:

Stuck at 38 all day. IAD went to 46, and I'm only 9 miles from there.

Check out that coastal front. Probably reinforcing the wedge a bit west of I-95.

[mattie g]

3 hours ago, Stormfly said:

As warm as you like if you are willing to have a fire either inside or out.

Give a man a fire and he’ll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he’ll be warm forever.

[Scraff]

HoCo Schools just closed tomorrow! The wife is practically in tears. She’s so happy. I better be able to ice skate on my street tomorrow damn it. 

[Interstate]

Just now, Scraff said:

HoCo Schools closed tomorrow! The wife is practically in tears. She’s so happy. Better be able to ice skate on my street tomorrow damn it. 

Yeah Baltimore county closed school for tomorrow back last year. 

[George BM]

11 minutes ago, Terpeast said:

Stuck at 38 all day. IAD went to 46, and I'm only 9 miles from there.

IAD has yeeted itself up to 51F.

http://iadasos.org/IAD/index.html

[mattie g]

I’m honestly shocked to see the Maryland school systems that have school this week. Fairfax is off all this week and next!

[IUsedToHateCold]

Up to 52. Hoping to stay dry slotted so I can take a walk later 

[TowsonTownT]

Blast furnace in Towson, 53 and light rain.

[snowfan]

2 minutes ago, mattie g said:

I’m honestly shocked to see the Maryland school systems that have school this week. Fairfax is off all this week and next!

Some, like Anne arundel county, closed for the week of thanksgiving. And have off tomorrow. Not quite fully balanced out the days off, but close. 

[WxUSAF]

9 minutes ago, Scraff said:

HoCo Schools just closed tomorrow! The wife is practically in tears. She’s so happy. I better be able to ice skate on my street tomorrow damn it. 

[aldie 22]

39 and pouring...was a joy walking the dogs blech

[Scarlet Pimpernel]

I know we're not really looking at much snow tomorrow as the Arctic front blasts through, and it would have been nice to score a couple quick inches as it breezes through (like Feb. 14, 2015).  Maybe we can get an hour of some snow showers though?  But still, I strangely find myself pretty interested...even kind of excited...to experience such and event.  Just hoping the power doesn't go out.  I've almost been preparing today as I would before a snow event, making sure the car is fueled up (just in case), getting things done shopping-wise before the weekend, etc.  Of course, some of that is due to Christmas; tomorrow and Saturday would be an absolute mess regardless of the weather, so best to get that completely done now!

If you think of it, outside the disappointing lack of snow, this should be very impressive.  Dropping from the 40s-50 or so into the teens by early afternoon, and even into the single digits overnight in the metro DC/Balt area (with no snow cover), then two days of rather bitter cold (again with no snow cover).  The temperatures indicated in the official forecast and in the models are numbers I haven't seen around here in some time, and even then maybe once or twice since I moved here (2001).

The temperature drop expected tomorrow morning, as well as the literal blast of wind and cold we're looking at, remind me of the Ohio Blizzard of 1978.  In that amazing storm, temperatures dropped 30 degrees in a two hour period (from mid 40s to mid-teens, eventually dropping into the single digits), along with a huge blast of wind and blizzard conditions.

[Eskimo Joe]

52 in Westminster, 38 in Thurmont. Impressive gradient.

[Terpeast]

Up to 45 now

[MN Transplant]

2 hours ago, Deck Pic said:

I'm thinking low to mid teens for me, but maybe it will overperform.  I think my Dec low since 2011 is 14-15.

DCA

I think Christmas Eve has a solid chance of being the coldest December day since 12/22-24/1989 (17/5, 22/7, 23/10).  Really just needs to surpass 12/20/2004 (24/11).

[WVclimo]

I’m up to 1.20” of liquid for the event.  Still 34° with plenty of snowpack left.

[clueless]

42. First time I checked today. Was outside today bleeding the hose bibs and it was just not fun. 

[poolz1]

1 minute ago, WVclimo said:

I’m up to 1.20” of liquid for the event.  Still 34° with plenty of snowpack left.

1.44" so far and the creek is almost out of its banks.  Unfortunately, only about a half inch of slush left here.  

[WVclimo]

5 minutes ago, poolz1 said:

1.44" so far and the creek is almost out of its banks.  Unfortunately, only about a half inch of slush left here.  

I have at least an inch in most spots.  Hoping against a spike in temps overnight.

 

[MN Transplant]

More fun climo stats.  There have been 68 days in DCA's climate record with a 40+ spread between high and low temps.  Most of those are in the distant past.  There have only been 5 cases in the past 40 years:

• 3/23/1994 - 83/39
• 1/19/1996 - 62/20 (the Potomac flood final push)
• 12/22/1998 - 67/24
• 4/8/2000 - 78/38
• 1/13/2018 - 62/21

We might be able to add to this list tomorrow if we can hold the 50s until midnight.

[Roger Ramjet]

1 hour ago, IronTy said:

My wood stove is going full blast right now . Unfortunately so is my heat pump.  Just can't win.  

 

1 hour ago, CAPE said:

The size/layout/openness of my house plus location of ceiling fans and thermostat make it all work. Nice convection. Spare bedroom and workout room can get a little cold but not a problem in most cases.

I have a log home in the very northwestern part of Loudoun County (between the hills) off of Harpers Ferry Road at 725'. My great room ceiling is 24' high and I heat with my wood stove whenever possible. My wall of windows faces west and I will get slammed with this frontal passage and will probably loose power - happens often. 75% of what I burn is black locust. When it gets cold, I really have to crank the wood stove to keep my propane furnace from coming on.