MD Weather: Rain, Cold, Gale Force Winds Forecast But No Snow

MARYLAND — The mild weather that Maryland has enjoyed is about to disappear as a storm arrives Friday with a 30-degree drop in temperatures and blast of rain and strong winds — but no snow.

Temperatures will soar into the mid-60s on Thursday and remain at 60 overnight and through Friday morning. And then the temperatures will plummet to about 30 degrees by Friday night. Winds could gust up to 32 mph on Friday, the National Weather Service said.

Temperatures will peak near record-high levels in parts of the Northeast Thursday, but a colder and potentially stormier pattern with snow and ice is forecast to set up across the northern third of the nation during the second half of February, AccuWeather meteorologists said.

The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake Bay, Tidal Potomac River, and I-95 corridor through central Maryland, northern Virginia, and District of Columbia through Thursday night.

Showers could produce gale-force wind gusts Thursday afternoon and evening. A gale watch remains in effect from Friday afternoon through Friday evening.

The first wave of colder air will reach the Eastern states by this weekend as a cold front marks the end of record-challenging temperatures. From Friday to Saturday morning, temperatures will be slashed by as much as 35 degrees from the Appalachians to much of the Atlantic coast during the winter reality check, AccuWeather said Thursday.

"It will go from feeling like late April to like mid-February in about 24 hours," AccuWeather Chief On-Air Meteorologist Bernie Rayno said.

Most major metro areas from New York City to Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., have barely had a few tenths of an inch of snow so far this winter.

Here's the latest Baltimore-DC region forecast from the National Weather Service:

Thursday: Showers, mainly between 1pm and 4pm. High near 64. South wind 5 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Thursday Night: Showers, mainly after 1am. Low around 60. Southwest wind 11 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Friday: Showers, mainly before 1pm. Temperature falling to around 48 by 5pm. Breezy, with a northwest wind 16 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 32 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 30. Northwest wind 14 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph.

Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 47. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 36.

Sunday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 53.

Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 44.

Washington's Birthday: Partly sunny, with a high near 60.

Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 42.

Tuesday: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 54. Chance of precipitation is 30%.