First ‘Extreme Cold Warning’ Under New NWS System Hits Washington-Baltimore as Arctic Blast Drives Subzero Wind Chills

Phones across the Washington region lit up before dawn Saturday with a phrase many residents had never seen on a weather alert: “Extreme Cold Warning.”

Outside, northwest winds rattled windows and sent loose trash bins scraping down rowhouse alleys. By midmorning, temperatures in the District and Baltimore struggled to escape the teens as gusts near 60 mph drove wind chills below zero—conditions forecasters warned could become life-threatening within minutes for anyone without adequate shelter or heat.

First warning of its kind under revised NWS alerts

The Arctic blast gripping the Mid-Atlantic and much of the East Coast through Sunday has prompted the National Weather Service to issue an Extreme Cold Warning for the Washington–Baltimore corridor and nearby suburbs for the first time since the agency overhauled its cold-weather alerts in 2024.

The warning—covering the District of Columbia, much of central and northern Maryland, northern Virginia, and parts of eastern West Virginia—was set to run from early Saturday through late Sunday morning. A similar warning from the Weather Service’s Philadelphia/Mount Holly office extends across Delaware, northeast Maryland, and southern New Jersey.

“Dangerously cold wind chills around or lower than 10 degrees below zero expected,” the Weather Service said in one alert for the Washington area. Another bulletin warned that “damaging winds will blow down trees and power lines. Widespread power outages are expected. Travel will be difficult, especially for high-profile vehicles.”

How cold it’s expected to get

The new warnings arrive in a winter that has already been unusually harsh by recent Mid-Atlantic standards. Late last month, Washington logged a nine-day stretch in which the temperature never rose above freezing—the longest such run since 1989. Forecasters expect February to finish several degrees colder than normal, potentially rivaling 2015 as one of the chilliest Februaries of the past few decades.

What is different this weekend is not that the region has never been this cold—historical records show much lower readings—but that a powerful Arctic air mass and damaging winds are colliding with an aging power grid and a densely populated metro area more accustomed to coastal storms than to sustained subzero wind chills.

At Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, the normal high and low for Feb. 7 are about 45 and 26 degrees, respectively. Forecasts on Saturday called for highs near 19 degrees and lows around 10 degrees, with wind chills remaining below zero for much of the day in many locations. In higher elevations of western Maryland, Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, and eastern West Virginia, forecasters said wind chills could drop to 10 to 25 degrees below zero.

The Weather Service cautioned that at those levels, frostbite can develop on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes. “The cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 to 30 minutes,” one advisory states, urging residents to limit time outdoors, dress in layers, and cover all exposed skin.

Why “Extreme Cold Warning” replaced wind-chill alerts

The Extreme Cold Warning is part of a national effort by the Weather Service to simplify and clarify its hazard messages. On Oct. 1, 2024, the agency retired the terms “Wind Chill Warning” and “Wind Chill Advisory” and replaced them with a three-tiered suite:

• Extreme Cold Warning
• Extreme Cold Watch
• Cold Weather Advisory

Officials said they made the change after years of public feedback and research showing that some people believed wind chill alerts did not apply when winds were light, even if temperatures were dangerously low. The new labels are intended to emphasize that cold itself, with or without strong wind, can be life-threatening.

An Extreme Cold Warning is issued when “extremely dangerous cold conditions or wind chill values are expected or occurring,” the Weather Service explains in its national guidance. Residents are urged to avoid going outside if possible, check on older relatives and neighbors, and seek out warming centers if their homes lose heat.

Capital Weather Gang, a group of meteorologists who cover regional weather for The Washington Post, reported that this is the first time an Extreme Cold Warning has been issued for the Washington region under the new system.

Outage and safety concerns as winds peak

In and around the capital, the combination of cold and wind raised alarm about potential power outages. With gusts forecast to reach 55 to 60 mph, local emergency officials warned that falling trees and branches could sever lines feeding neighborhoods already hard-pressed to keep up with heating costs after weeks of below-normal temperatures.

“Damaging winds will blow down trees and power lines,” the Weather Service said in a High Wind Warning for parts of northern Virginia, Maryland, and the District. “Widespread power outages are expected.”

Utilities in the region said they were mobilizing extra crews and urged customers to prepare for possible outages by charging devices, having flashlights and batteries on hand, and identifying alternate locations where they could go if their homes became too cold.

Local governments scrambled to expand shelter capacity and open warming centers. Residents without reliable heat were directed to call 211, a social services hotline, or check county and city websites for locations and hours. Many advisories included reminders to pet owners to bring animals indoors and to farmers to ensure livestock had dry shelter, food, and access to unfrozen water.

Officials also warned about indoor hazards. With heating demand surging, fire departments asked residents to keep space heaters at least three feet from anything flammable, plug them directly into wall outlets rather than power strips, and never use ovens, charcoal grills, or gasoline generators to heat enclosed spaces because of carbon monoxide risks.

Travel disruptions and a wider pattern

Schools, still recovering from earlier snow and ice disruptions this winter, moved quickly as the Arctic front approached Friday. Baltimore County and Harford County public schools closed early and canceled after-school and evening activities, citing deteriorating weather and the expected plunge in temperatures and wind chills.

Driving conditions were expected to remain difficult into Saturday night, with strong crosswinds buffeting bridges and overpasses and scattered slick spots from snow showers that accompanied the front. High-profile vehicles such as trucks, buses, and vans were at particular risk on exposed stretches of highway, forecasters said.

Meteorologists traced the cold to an air mass that originated over Siberia before spilling into North America, guided by a wavy polar jet stream that carved a deep trough over the eastern United States. Similar conditions have brought dangerous wind chills to the Great Lakes and Northeast and contributed to damaging freezes in Florida earlier in the week that hit citrus and other crops and burst water pipes. Private analysts have estimated total damage and economic losses from the broader outbreak in the tens of billions of dollars.

Scientists caution that such Arctic outbreaks are not new, even in a warming climate. While average winter temperatures in the Mid-Atlantic have risen over the past several decades, the atmosphere remains capable of producing short, intense cold snaps when the jet stream bends south and opens a path for polar air.

For residents, what matters this weekend is the immediate question of how to stay warm and safe until the winds ease and temperatures begin to rebound.

What comes next

The Climate Prediction Center expects below-normal temperatures to persist across the Mid-Atlantic into at least mid-February, with a gradual moderation possible later in the month. Even after the Extreme Cold Warning expires Sunday, forecasters say the pattern will remain favorable for additional cold shots, if not of the same severity.

Until then, officials are urging people to act as if the cold is every bit as dangerous as the name suggests.

“If you are without shelter or lack adequate heat, move to a warming center or other safe location,” one Weather Service alert advises. “Frostbite and hypothermia can occur quickly if precautions are not taken.”