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PM Update: Still cold with waning winds
A little warmer Saturday ahead of weak wintry threat
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Our winter-like chill entered day two today and we have at least another 2 days of temperatures pretty solidly below average. If you can look past highs in the mid-30s to near 40 and winds gusting over 30 mph at times, today was not too bad. At least we saw a lot of sun! Skies stay mostly clear and temperatures remain cold through tonight and much of tomorrow before clouds increase ahead of the Sunday storm threat.
Through Tonight: It is going to be clear and cold again overnight. The good news is that winds will finally subside quite a bit near and after sunset. Lows range from the upper teens in the suburbs to the low-or-mid 20s downtown.
Tomorrow (Saturday): Saturday should be fairly tranquil if also still pretty chilly. Mostly sunny skies should start to trend cloudier by late afternoon or evening. Temperatures warm just a smidge with highs mainly in the low 40s and winds light from the southwest.
What are the chances for snow or a wintry mix on Sunday? See Camden Walker's full forecast into early next week. And if you haven't already, join us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
El Niño: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says that El Niño -- the periodic warming of Pacific Ocean waters along the equator that impacts weather patterns worldwide -- strengthened over the past month and is expected to continue through at least spring 2010. Though El Niño remains moderate, it is now getting close to the strong classification, according to NOAA, which places equal chances on El Niño either strengthening more or staying moderate.
By
Ian Livingston
| December 11, 2009; 3:15 PM ET
Categories:
Forecasts
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Posted by: ksrgatorfn1 | December 11, 2009 4:04 PM | Report abuse
Kim, I'm not super well versed in winter scenarios on either, though I do know weak to moderate Ninos that wane late generally produce good shots at snow around here, and that's part of the reason we saw so many snowy forecasts for this winter. I think we don't really want a strong El Nino and if we get there we don't want it to stick around for too long at that level. But this one does not look the same as the last big one in 97/98 from what I understand, and I think we've already seen more snow than we got that season.
Posted by: Ian-CapitalWeatherGang | December 11, 2009 6:48 PM | Report abuse
Doesn't surpise me that the El Nino is going 2 b stronger than expected, I said back in late Nov. that it would b stronger than 1st thought. That's why I called 4 above average temps & below average snow. Still think this will b a snow starved winter.
Posted by: VaTechBob | December 11, 2009 7:05 PM | Report abuse
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Ian, for those of us who still are confused for El Nino vs La Nina, can you clarify what this means? Mild winter or Blizzards?
Thanks!
Kim (usually in Manassas but on Amtrak who knows where right now)