DCA: Da Chill Arrives

Now

Sunny and cold. Calm winds just before dawn, clear skies, and very low humidity (dewpoints in the mid and upper 20s) helped pushed low temperatures this morning to or below the bottom range of forecasts last night. National was 39°, Dulles was 31°, and some outlying areas were below freezing. (Frederick was 28°.)

Despite a wind shift to the south and bright sunshine, temperatures have rebounded only to the mid 50s this afternoon. The chill will continue tonight with temperatures near or several degrees below last night in most places. Check your county above for the freeze warnings and frost advisories in effect.

CapitalWeather.com chart of NWS data shows hourly temperatures from noon yesterday through 3pm today at National (DCA) and Dulles (IAD); photo © Kevin Ambrose

Tonight and Tomorrow

Chilly. Under clear skies and diminishing winds, lows tonight will range from the upper 30s downtown to near or slightly below freezing in the 'burbs. Tomorrow will be sunny with a warmup to the low 60s.

For the outlook through the rest of the weekend, scroll down to Camden's post below.

Early Snow

The wind direction from this cold blast was just right for dumping huge amounts of wet lake-effect snow on Buffalo, NY. Up to two feet of snow was reported to be the 6th highest 24-hour amount in Buffalo history, and it smashed the old one-day record for October of 6". Downed trees created massive power outages and closed roads, including a 100+ mile section of the New York Thruway. The Toronto Star reports that Fort Erie on the Canadian side of the border was also hard hit.

Photo from NY State Thruway Authority

Tropical Topics

Tropical activity? Fuhgeddaboudit!