Maryland, 2024

Cold in Maryland, January 16 to 17, 2024

January 16 to 17, 2024 · NWS LWX · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

A Canadian airmass moved in behind a departing low pressure system. The winds coupled with Canadian air resulted in wind chills in the -5 to -20 range with the lowest wind chill values on the ridges.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
3

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.

A Canadian airmass moved in behind a departing low pressure system. The winds coupled with Canadian air resulted in wind chills in the -5 to -20 range with the lowest wind chill values on the ridges.

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.

NWS Baltimore/Washington wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 16, 2:14 PM EST, 7 hours 46 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 16, 2:14 PM EST, 7 hours 46 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 16, 10:56 AM EST, 11 hours 4 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Baltimore MD/Washington DC
1056 AM EST Tue Jan 16 2024

ANZ530>543-DCZ001-MDZ008-011-013-014-016>018-504-506-508-
VAZ053>057-527-171600-
Chesapeake Bay north of Pooles Island MD-
Chesapeake Bay from Pooles Island to Sandy Point MD-
Chesapeake Bay from Sandy Point to North Beach MD-
Chesapeake Bay from North Beach to Drum Point MD-
Chesapeake Bay from Drum Point MD to Smith Point VA-
Tidal Potomac from Key Bridge to Indian Head MD-
Tidal Potomac from Indian Head to Cobb Island MD-
Tidal Potomac from Cobb Island MD to Smith Point VA-
Patapsco River including Baltimore Harbor-
Chester River to Queenstown MD-Eastern Bay-
Choptank River to Cambridge MD and the Little Choptank River-
Patuxent River to Broomes Island MD-
Tangier Sound and the inland waters surrounding Bloodsworth
Island-District of Columbia-Cecil-Southern Baltimore-
Prince Georges-Anne Arundel-Charles-St. Marys-Calvert-
Central and Southeast Montgomery-Central and Southeast Howard-
Southeast Harford-Fairfax-Arlington/Falls Church/Alexandria-
Stafford-Spotsylvania-King George-
Central and Southeast Prince William/Manassas/Manassas Park-
1056 AM EST Tue Jan 16 2024

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for the Maryland portion of the
Chesapeake Bay, Tidal Potomac River, and I-95 corridor through
central Maryland, northern Virginia, and District of Columbia.

.DAY ONE...Today and Tonight

Areas of light freezing drizzle will continue through midday. A
light glaze of ice is possible on elevated and untreated surfaces.

Dangerously cold wind chills are possible late tonight into early
Wednesday morning, especially near and north of Highway 50.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Wednesday through Monday

There is a slight winter storm threat Friday and Friday night. If
the threat materializes, it may cause travel disruptions.

Dangerously cold wind chills are possible Saturday night.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation will not be needed today or tonight, but
spotters are encouraged to report snowfall measurements to the
National Weather Service.

MDZ003>006-503-505-507-VAZ025>031-036>040-050-051-501-502-505>508-
526-WVZ050>053-055-171600-
Washington-Frederick MD-Carroll-Northern Baltimore-
Northwest Montgomery-Northwest Howard-Northwest Harford-Augusta-
Rockingham-Shenandoah-Frederick VA-Page-Warren-Clarke-Nelson-
Albemarle-Greene-Madison-Rappahannock-Orange-Culpeper-
Northern Fauquier-Southern Fauquier-Western Loudoun-
Eastern Loudoun-Northern Virginia Blue Ridge-
Central Virginia Blue Ridge-Northwest Prince William-Hampshire-
Morgan-Berkeley-Jefferson-Hardy-
1056 AM EST Tue Jan 16 2024

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of eastern West
Virginia, northern and central Virginia, and central and western
Maryland.

.DAY ONE...Today and Tonight

Areas of light freezing drizzle will continue through midday. A
light glaze of ice is possible on elevated and untreated surfaces.

A Wind Chill Advisory is in effect for the Blue Ridge tonight.

Dangerously cold wind chills are possible late tonight into early
Wednesday morning, especially northwest of Highway 29.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Wednesday through Monday

There is a slight winter storm threat Friday and Friday night. If
the threat materializes, it may cause travel disruptions.

Dangerously cold wind chills are possible Saturday night.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation will not be needed today or tonight, but
spotters are encouraged to report snowfall measurements to the
National Weather Service.

MDZ001-501-502-VAZ503-504-WVZ501>506-171600-
Garrett-Extreme Western Allegany-Central and Eastern Allegany-
Western Highland-Eastern Highland-Western Grant-Eastern Grant-
Western Mineral-Eastern Mineral-Western Pendleton-
Eastern Pendleton-
1056 AM EST Tue Jan 16 2024

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for the Allegheny Front
counties in western Maryland, eastern West Virginia, and Highland
County Virginia.

.DAY ONE...Today and Tonight

Upslope snow showers will continue through mid-afternoon. Expect
visibility values down below one mile with additional light snow
accumulations.

A Wind Chill Advisory is in effect Pendleton, Highland, western
Grant, western Mineral, extreme western Allegany, and Garrett
counties this afternoon through tonight.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Wednesday through Monday

The Wind Chill Advisory continues into Wednesday afternoon.

Dangerously cold wind chills are likely, especially during the
overnight and morning hours Friday night through Saturday night.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation will not be needed today or tonight, but
spotters are encouraged to report snowfall measurements to the
National Weather Service.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jan 16, 5:26 PM EST, 4 hours 34 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Local storm report, Jan 16, 5:59 PM EST, 4 hours 1 minute before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Cold/Wind Chill, Garrett

When
January 16, 10:00 PM EST to January 17, 2:00 PM EST
Where
Garrett forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet

Cold/Wind Chill, Central and Eastern Allegany

When
January 16, 10:00 PM EST to January 17, 2:00 PM EST
Where
Central and Eastern Allegany forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
39.622, -78.699 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Extreme Western Allegany

When
January 16, 10:00 PM EST to January 17, 2:00 PM EST
Where
Extreme Western Allegany forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
39.622, -78.699 (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

More

Every storm in Maryland in 2024Every state in 2024This day in weather historyWarnings in Maryland, January 2024

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1148978, 1148979, 1148980.