Temperatures today were a good 20 degrees or more below normal. Highs in the mid- and upper 30s are more typical of midwinter, making this one of the coldest days so early in the season for the city. Additionally, the high of 37 at Dulles International Airport was enough to set a record low maximum for the date, on top of the record lows set this morning there and at Baltimore-Washington International Marshall Airport. At least we saw lots of sun. There continues to be plenty of rays into tomorrow, as temperatures rise a bit. But first, it’s another very cold night, although low temperature records should be safe.

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Through Tonight: A few high clouds are blowing by this evening and into the night. Otherwise, skies are fairly clear. Clouds shouldn’t hold temperatures up too much. There’s a big range in lows from cold suburbs to mild city. About 17 to 29 should do it. Winds are light and variable.

View the current weather at The Washington Post.

Tomorrow (Thursday): We will take another small step upward from today’s readings. Skies will be mostly sunny, and winds will be light as highs aim mainly for the mid- and upper 40s. Winds will turn, coming from the south, and will be about 5 to 10 mph.

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Bay effect: It was cold enough today to cause “bay effect” streamers, as well as ocean clouds more broadly. This is the same mechanism that causes lake-effect snow. Our unusually chilly early-season cold shot traversed over waters still in the 50s to create clouds and some flakes. Very little snow was reported on land, but flurries were seen around Virginia Beach and Rehoboth this morning.

Similar happened Tuesday on small lakes, and even on rivers, in the mid-South. Brrrr!

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