47°
That's because Christmas Eve and Christmas Day will be the coldest in decades.
A powerful, massive storm that brought a mix of heavy rain, damaging winds, sleet, and snow, has now moved off the coast, but the passage of a cold front accompanying the system has led to a dramatic dip in temperatures.
The wind-chill factor on Christmas Eve on Saturday morning, Dec. 24 is below zero degrees in most of the region.
After a sunny start, clouds will increase during the day, but the high temperature will only be in the mid to upper teens to low 20s, and wind gusts of around 20 mph will make it feel colder, the National Weather Service said.
Christmas Eve night will be clear and bitterly cold with the overnight low in the single teens and sub-zero wind-chill values.
Christmas Day on Sunday, Dec. 25 will be dry and brisk, with mostly sunny skies and a high temperature in the mid to upper 20s, but wind-chill values again in the single digits.
After continued cold on Monday, Dec. 26, there will be a gradual day-by-day increase in temperatures, leading to a big change in the weather pattern heading into New Year's Eve.
"A major shift in the jet stream will occur next week," AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Meteorologist Paul Pastelok said. "Instead of a massive dip in the jet stream that allows air from the North Pole to empty into the US, a more west-to-east jet pattern will develop and allow milder air from the Pacific to flow across much of the nation."
That means high temperatures on Friday, Dec. 30, New Year's Eve on Saturday, Dec. 31, and New Year's Day, on Sunday, Jan. 1, should be between 50 and 55 degrees each of those days.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Hagerstown and receive free news updates.
