Cold/Wind Chill, Loudoun
- When
- January 10, 1:00 AM EST to 11:00 AM EST
- Where
- Loudoun forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Cold in Virginia, January 10, 2004
Very cold Arctic air settled over the portions of Northern Virginia. The minimum temperatures ranged from the lower teens to the digits, and north winds averaged 10 to 15 mph.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 4 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 5
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS LWX wrote it up.
Very cold Arctic air settled over the portions of Northern Virginia. The minimum temperatures ranged from the lower teens to the digits, and north winds averaged 10 to 15 mph. This produced wind chills on the average of 10 degrees below zero. There were dozens of cases of broken water mains and water pipes due to the extremely cold temperatures.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 9, 4:35 AM EST, 20 hours 25 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC 435 AM EST FRI JAN 9 2004 DCZ001-MDZ002>007-009>011-013-014-016>018-VAZ021-025>031-036>042- 050>057-WVZ048>055-091700- ALBEMARLE VA-ALLEGANY MD-ANNE ARUNDEL MD- ARLINGTON/FALLS CHURCH/ALEXANDRIA VA-AUGUSTA VA-BERKELEY WV- CALVERT MD-CARROLL MD-CHARLES MD-CLARKE VA-CULPEPER VA- DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA DC-FAIRFAX VA-FAUQUIER VA-FREDERICK VA- FREDERICK MD-GRANT WV-GREENE VA-HAMPSHIRE WV-HARDY WV-HARFORD MD- HIGHLAND VA-HOWARD MD-JEFFERSON WV-KING GEORGE VA-LOUDOUN VA- MADISON VA-MINERAL WV-MONTGOMERY MD-MORGAN WV-NELSON VA- NORTHERN BALTIMORE MD-ORANGE VA-PAGE VA-PENDLETON WV- PRINCE GEORGES MD-PRINCE WILLIAM/MANASSAS/MANASSAS PARK VA- RAPPAHANNOCK VA-ROCKINGHAM VA-SHENANDOAH VA-SOUTHERN BALTIMORE MD- SPOTSYLVANIA VA-ST. MARYS MD-STAFFORD VA-WARREN VA-WASHINGTON MD- THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MARYLAND WEST OF THE CHESAPEAKE BAY EXCEPT GARRETT COUNTY...EASTERN WEST VIRGINIA...NORTHERN AND CENTRAL VIRGINIA...AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. .DAY ONE... LIGHT SNOW WILL FALL OVER THE AREA TODAY. ONE TO TWO INCHES IS EXPECTED FROM THE WESTERN VIRGINIA HIGHLANDS TO THE CENTRAL VIRGINIA FOOTHILLS. A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT THERE. ELSEWHERE ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE AN INCH OR LESS. TONIGHT WILL BE VERY COLD WITH LOWS TEMPERATURES BETWEEN 5 AND 15. NORTH WINDS AT 10 TO 15 MPH WILL MAKE IT FEEL LIKE ZERO TO 10 BELOW ZERO. BUNDLE UP IF YOU ARE HEADED OUT TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... THERE IS A CHANCE OF SNOW AGAIN WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED. RDH
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
5 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
Cold/Wind Chill, Stafford
- When
- January 10, 1:00 AM EST to 11:00 AM EST
- Where
- Stafford forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 38.421, -77.457 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, King George
- When
- January 10, 1:00 AM EST to 11:00 AM EST
- Where
- King George forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 38.274, -77.156 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Fairfax
- When
- January 10, 1:00 AM EST to 11:00 AM EST
- Where
- Fairfax forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 38.841, -77.291 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Arlington
- When
- January 10, 1:00 AM EST to 11:00 AM EST
- Where
- Arlington forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 38.855, -77.106 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Cold/Wind Chill
- Cold or wind chill below warning criteria that caused deaths, injuries or damage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Cold in New York, January 10, 2004
- Cold in Pennsylvania, January 10, 2004
- Cold in Maryland, January 10, 2004
- High Surf in Hawaii, January 10 to 11, 2004
- Dense Fog in California, January 10 to 13, 2004
- Cold in West Virginia, January 10, 2004
- Dense Fog in Wyoming, January 10 to 11, 2004
- Cold in District of Columbia, January 10, 2004
- Heavy Snow in Michigan, January 10 to 11, 2004
More
Every storm in Virginia in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Virginia, January 2004
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5381588, 5381589, 5381590, 5381591, 5381685.