The dominant concern among National Weather Service forecasters this Thursday afternoon has centered upon the chance of a “flash freeze” as an arctic cold front passes through the area.
Earlier concerns of snow squalls have yielded to the more likely concerns of a rapid plunge in temperatures that follow the past two days of mild, lightly-thawing temperatures that primed the air for fog on Thursday, and which now threaten a slick, frosty finish.
Lingering moisture in the form of ponding or saturated road surfaces won’t abate before temperatures plunge below freezing, posing the risk of black ice and the resulting slick driving conditions during this evening’s commute. The falling temperatures will be driven on gusty winds that will hasten the freezing process.
NWS Graphic
If there’s good news, it comes from the waning of any risk from snow squalls in the wake of the arctic influx of air. However, we’ll still need to tolerate a Friday with highs limited to the teens, while wind chills spend much of the day below zero.
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