MD Arctic Blast To Feel Like Zero Degrees With 30 MPH Winds

MARYLAND — The polar vortex — a blast of air from the Arctic Circle — will deliver a punch of winter to Maryland Friday, as blustery winds over 30 mph will make it feel bitter cold, forecasters said.

The Arctic blast that will hit the Baltimore-Washington, D.C., area overnight Friday could bring with it wind chills near zero, although skies should be clear enough to see the green comet if you want to brave the frigid temperatures.

The polar vortex will cause temperatures to start to plummet on Friday between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. Overnight, temperatures will dip into the low teens, with wind chills in the single digits across most of the region, AccuWeather.com said.

"Skies should be clear [Friday night] if you want to find the green comet, but be careful not to stay outside too long," forecasters at The Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang said.

Forecasters at WUSA9 recommended residents dress in layers and cover exposed skin for any time spent outdoors Friday night and Saturday morning. "The wind chill will make it feel much colder than it actually is," the forecasters said.

Wind gusts of up to 20 mph in the close-in suburbs and 30 mph in the outlying suburbs will make conditions colder. "Winds will average 15-25 mph with gusts approaching 40 mph over the central Appalachians and the mid-Atlantic on Friday," AccuWeather said Friday.

This blast of Arctic air could rival low-temperature marks set during the Christmastime outbreak in the mid-Atlantic, according to AccuWeather.

"The teeth-chattering cold will still make its presence felt in the major cities along the Interstate 95 corridor. Temperatures in New York City will bottom out in the single digits Saturday morning, while Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., will plummet well into the teens," AccuWeather said.

The polar vortex, which is a storm at the jet stream level of the atmosphere, has kept frigid air locked above the Arctic Circle for most of the winter. However, in recent days, the polar vortex has stretched enough to allow bitter cold air to move southward across North America into southern Canada and the U.S. Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, according to AccuWeather.

On Saturday in the Baltimore-D.C. area, winds will calm down, but high temperatures in the region will remain in the low- to mid-30s. Low temperatures on Saturday night will be 10 to 15 degrees warmer than Friday night, dropping only into the low-30s inside the Beltway and into the mid-20s in areas outside the Beltway, the Capital Weather Gang said.

By Sunday, temperatures are expected to return to unseasonably warm levels, with highs hitting the low-50s, according to the National Weather Service.

Temperatures in the region are expected to remain well above normal into mid-February, AccuWeather said in its long-term forecast.

The cold blast prompted the Weather Service to issue a hazardous weather outlook Friday for the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake Bay, Tidal Potomac River, and I-95 corridor through
central Maryland, northern Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

"Blustery and dry conditions are expected area wide today in the wake of an Arctic cold front," the Weather Service said. "With maximum wind chill temperatures in the teens and 20s for most today, remember to bundle up if heading outdoors!"

Here is the National Weather Service's Baltimore area weather forecast for the weekend:

Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 29. Blustery, with a northwest wind 18 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 33 mph.

Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 14. Northwest wind 9 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 29 mph.

Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 32. West wind 5 to 9 mph becoming south in the afternoon.

Saturday Night: Increasing clouds, with a low around 29. South wind 7 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 51. South wind around 11 mph.

Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 37.

Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 52.