PM Update: Wind advisory late Tuesday, after morning wind chills near 20

Winds pick up starting tonight, and wind chills will bite

Sustained winds and wind streamlines, as forecast by the National Blend of Models, for late Tuesday evening. (weatherbell.com)

* Wind advisory 2 p.m. Tuesday until 2 a.m. Wednesday *

We’re in the final moments of somewhat calm conditions this evening. The developing nor’easter well to our east that will clobber New England is starting to set the table for a gusty 36 to 48 hours. Highs today near 50 were a bit below average, and fresh cold air is spilling in. You’ll feel winter in your bones on Tuesday, especially as winds ramp up through the day.

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Through tonight: Skies will clear out into the night, but some clouds will probably stick around. Winds will start to noticeably increase near and after sunset, then that will continue into the night. They will be about 15 mph, gusting to 25 mph near midnight. By sunrise, winds will be sustained around 20 to 25 mph, with gusts close to 40 mph and bitter wind chills. Temperatures will dip to lows in the low and mid-30s.

View the current weather at The Washington Post.

Tomorrow (Tuesday): It will be cold and windy. Wind chills will be in the teens to about 20 near sunrise, and there could be some flurries in the air at times early in the day. If you have to be out in the cold, search out the sunny spots. Some additional midday clouds will develop in the extremely cold air aloft. Highs will be mainly in the mid-40s, but some lower 40s will be possible to the north and west.

Sustained northwest winds will be about 20 to 30 mph, with gusts to 45 or 50 mph that could prove common during the afternoon and into the night. There may be some slow diminishing after midnight, but not much. Wind chills will probably fall to the teens Tuesday night.

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Beware the (near) ides of March: It’s the windy season around here. With a powerful ocean storm developing and high pressure nosing in across the Central United States, the Mid-Atlantic finds itself squeezed between the two. That squeeze play will enhance our wind.

A Wind Advisory has been issued for midday Tuesday into early Wednesday morning. NW winds 20 to 30mph with gusts up to 50mph are expected. Areas of wind damage and scattered power outages are possible. For more detailed info on timing & locations, visit: https://t.co/5RyZgpfrqr pic.twitter.com/PhXk7a1ewg

— NWS Baltimore-Washington (@NWS_BaltWash) March 13, 2023

It is the unusual case in which winds may peak near or even after dark, then stay strong through the night. The most likely locations for damaging wind gusts over 50 mph are places such as Parr’s Ridge in and around Damascus, Md., as well as other elevated areas to the north and west of the city.

In areas with somewhat weaker gusts, the duration will still be notable. Weather modeling suggests a place like Dulles, Va., could see gusts past 40 mph for 24 to 30 hours starting around sunrise Tuesday.

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