Tracking Our Sub-Freezing Wind Chills

The coldest and driest air mass of the season continues to move into the region this evening, and with a persistent and brisk northwesterly wind, the wind chill in Richmond and areas to the north and west will remain below freezing for a fairly long duration. I drew the red line above to indicate what I think the wind chill will register over the next few days, and also drew a light blue horizontal line to show the freezing line at 32 degrees. We'll be close to seeing wind chill values crack the freezing mark Wednesday afternoon, but it's likely we'll experience wind chills at or below freezing for about 63 hours, especially in areas north and west of here. The deep trough responsible for this cold snap will shift east of the area on Thursday, giving us a break from the cold heading into the weekend. And yes, I expect us to be in the low 60s on Saturday, so the confusion to vegetation and wardrobe planning will continue. As for any precipitation, the chances are very slim, with just a slight chance for a little light rain on Sunday. The medium range models continue to show flashes of an east coast winter storm in the extended period, but nothing very focused at the moment. I'll keep an eye on it and let you know if something looks promising. In the meantime bundle up, and check back for another update tomorrow. -Zach