PM Update: Freeze Warning in effect for many areas tonight
On the heels of a strong cold front which moved through the area yesterday, cold air both aloft and at the surface has settled into the region today. This air is unseasonably cold, in fact, with mid level temperatures several degrees below normal and surface temperatures only topping out in the lower 50’s this afternoon in many locations throughout the area. The cold air aloft even aided in some snow and graupel showers throughout the area during the afternoon today.
Nevertheless, tonight will be a cold one. Forecast models are in good agreement on mid level temperatures falling to even colder levels tonight than they did today. At the 850mb level, for example, models suggest temperatures will fall to near -10 C later tonight. That is a value much more common in the middle of winter, and not often seen in late April.