DELMARVA -- We continue to see a prolonged stretch of dangerous, potentially record-setting cold across Delmarva that will last through the remainder of the week and into the weekend. Despite bright sunshine today, the air mass over the region is firmly arctic, keeping temperatures well below freezing while a stiff wind adds an extra bite.
This afternoon will feature mostly sunny skies, but highs will only reach 18 to 26 degrees. A northwest wind gusting 30 to 35 mph will make it feel much colder, with wind chills falling into the single digits and teens. Conditions remain harsh into tonight, with temperatures dropping to 4 to 13 degrees. By Friday morning, the cold combined with lingering wind may push wind chills as low as 8 below zero in the coldest, most exposed areas.
Friday stays locked in the deep freeze, and clouds are expected to increase late in the day. High temperatures are forecast to top out near 21 degrees, putting the region on track to challenge a record cold high. The standing record is 24 degrees set in 2010, and if the forecast holds, Friday could end up even colder than that mark.
The frigid air will continue through the weekend as arctic high pressure remains dominant. At the same time, the focus shifts to the potential for a rapidly deepening storm to develop off the East Coast. Forecast guidance has continued to fluctuate on the storm track, but the overall thinking has not changed: there will very likely be at least some impacts across portions of the area this weekend from a potentially major coastal storm, and those impacts could be most significant near the coast, including southern Delaware, Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virgina.
Winter Storm Watches are up for Worcester and Accomack counties beginning Saturday morning-Sunday afternoon.Â
Confidence in specific storm details remains low, but the storm could bring accumulations of snow along with strong winds and coastal flooding. With very cold temperatures in place at the surface and aloft, all snow is strongly favored. The latest probabilistic guidance has remained steady near the coast. Probabilities for more than 2 inches of snow remain in the 60 to 70 percent range near the coast, compared with 25 to 35 percent near the I-95 corridor. For amounts over 6 inches, probabilities have dropped near I-95 to around 20 percent, while remaining higher near the coast in the 35 to 50 percent range.
Our latest thinking has 3 to 6 inches for Lewes, Rehoboth Beach, Bethany Beach, to Ocean City, right along 113. Two to four inches Cambridge, Salisbury, Georgetown, Milford, Harrington. Coating to an inch from Dover on points north and west. There will be a very sharp cutoff to the north and west from a few inches of snow to no snow at all.Â
Even if snow totals end up limited in some locations, confidence is increasing that the storm should track close enough to bring strengthening winds Saturday night into Sunday. Current forecasts call for north to northeast winds of 15 to 25 mph with gusts 25 to 35 mph inland on Sunday, while coastal areas could see sustained winds 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 50 mph+. Winds could trend even stronger if the storm takes a more northwest track, raising concerns for scattered damage and power outages. Coastal flooding also becomes a greater concern if winds align more from the northeast, which can push water toward the shoreline and enhance water level rises.
By Sunday evening, the storm should be rapidly pulling away to the northeast, leading to a quieter stretch of weather early next week, though cold conditions will persist. Temperatures may finally creep above the freezing mark into early next week.Â
Stay up to date on the approaching winter storm with radar and hourly forecasts in the CoastTV weather app, available for Apple and Android.