Wintry mix of sleet, freezing rain causes icy conditions, school delays

WASHINGTON - After the coldest stretch of days in Washington, D.C. since the winter of 2014, the Arctic express is finally about to release our region from its cold, icy grasp. The cold will not be softening without a little bit of a fight, however. A cold front pushing in from the west has brought some precipitation.

Following a weekend when temperatures across the region failed to even get close to the freezing mark, parts of our region dealt with an icing situation as sleet and freezing rain moved in on Monday.

FULL LIST: School districts announce delays for Tuesday morning

So what exactly is going on in the atmosphere to give our region this threat? After days of a steady and cold northwest wind, winds have finally turned in a more southerly direction today, which will start to soften and eventually rid our region of the cold air in place. The problem is that cold air is very stubborn. Cold, dry air is much heavier than the warm, moist air that is trying to force its way into our area. This means the warm air will be forced to rise up and over the cold air initially, warming the air above our heads before we feel it down at the surface.

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As the graphic shows, it is the depth of this warm layer that will determine whether or not it is snow, sleet, freezing rain, or rain that you see falling from the sky on Monday. Regardless of what type of precipitation it is, one constant holds true and that is ground temperatures across the region are absolutely frigid. A morning check of road regional road temperatures showed widespread pavement temperatures in the teens and a lack of sunshine Monday prevented the temperatures from rising too quickly in the afternoon. As a result, what fell was likely to freeze solid on contact, especially on untreated roads and sidewalks.

Precipitation pushed into the region from west to east. The I-81 corridor and I-95 received a wintry mix on Monday, and due to the threat of the coating of ice, the National Weather Service issued Winter Weather Advisories for much of our region. For the immediate D.C. and Baltimore metro regions, these advisories were in place until 9 p.m. Monday.

We urge local travelers to exercise caution if they are hitting area roadways. Even if it looks like rain hitting your windshield, remember that the water can quickly freeze over when it comes in contact with the surface. While your major roadways will likely be passable thanks to pretreatment and heavier traffic flow warming the surface, it is the lesser traveled and poorly treated sidewalks and side streets that are going to be your main concern.

The storm system will clear our region Monday night, but subfreezing temperatures, especially in the suburbs, means some patchy slick spots will remain possible into the overnight hours. Some school districts in Virginia and Maryland have announced two-hour delays Tuesday morning.

By Tuesday afternoon, however, sunshine coupled with widespread temperatures in the 40s will put travel concerns behind us. Our region will continue to thaw into the latter half of the workweek, with temperatures nearing 60 degrees expected by Friday afternoon.

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