Temperatures in Washington D.C., USA dropped to about -11 degrees Celsius, while temperatures in many neighboring areas dropped to a deeper level.
This is part of the severe cold air wave that started last weekend and shows no signs of ending soon.
According to many measurements, this is one of the most severe cold spells since the late 1800s.
This severe cold spell has created conditions for a snowstorm to occur last weekend, and at the same time caused snow and ice to accumulate thickly, possibly existing for at least 7-10 days to come.
Cold air is also changing the river system in the area. Some sections of the Potomac River have begun to freeze, and if temperatures continue to drop, Chesapeake Bay may experience ice cover - a rare phenomenon, with the most recent occurrence clearly in January 2018 and February 2015.
On January 27, the US National Weather Service (NWS) issued a warning about severe cold. It is likely that there will be more new warnings in the coming days, as cold air from the Arctic continuously flows down.
Cold air began to pour in from the night of January 23, pulling the temperature throughout the region down to -18 degrees Celsius to -12 degrees Celsius. The lowest level of -12 degrees Celsius in Washington D.C. is the deepest temperature drop since Christmas Eve 2022. The highest daytime temperature is only about -6 degrees Celsius, also the lowest level since 2022.
The January 25 snowstorm occurred when the temperature was only at -7 degrees Celsius to -9 degrees Celsius and almost did not increase throughout the day. For an area that usually finds it difficult to fall to 0 degrees Celsius during snowstorms, this severe cold spell is considered particularly rare.
The 3-day consecutive series of highest temperatures not exceeding -2 degrees Celsius (from January 24-26) is the longest since 2000.
Weather forecast models show that for at least another 6 days, the highest temperature will still be below -4 degrees Celsius. When another intensified cold air mass from the Arctic breaks through on the evening of January 28, the perceived temperature may drop to -21 degrees Celsius or lower.
The peak of severe cold may fall on the weekend, January 30th and 31st, when the highest daytime temperature is unlikely to exceed -7 degrees Celsius.
It is highly likely that the entire region, including the center of Washington D.C., will record nighttime temperatures dropping sharply many times in the coming days.
The main cause of the latest severe cold spell is due to a jet stream appearing with a deep and unusually long concave region in the eastern North American region. The jet - the boundary between cold Arctic air in the north and warmer air in the south - is being pushed very far south by a high pressure area moving between Greenland and the Hudson Bay.
At the same time, high pressure systems in Siberia and western North America coordinate with each other, leading cold air flow from Siberia through the polar region, then following the current to spill into eastern North America.
In other words, huge amounts of cold air from both the Arctic of Canada and Siberia are pouring into the eastern United States, including the Washington D.C. region.
There are currently no clear signs that this weather pattern will end soon.
