A sudden snow squall moved through the D.C. area Saturday afternoon as a blast of Arctic air is set to cause temperatures to drop precipitously this weekend.
The National Weather Service called for a line of heavy snow showers and squalls extending from Orange in Virginia to Emmitsburg in Maryland to move across the area towards the Interstate 95 corridor Saturday afternoon.
The snow band reached downtown Washington just before 3:00 p.m. and the eastern Washington suburbs at around 3:15 p.m.
Visibility on the road was briefly reduced to less than half a mile in heavy snow and wind gusts approached 30 miles per hour, while temperatures dropped into the 20s.
A winter weather advisory is currently in place until 7 p.m. Saturday for Frederick counties in Virginia and Maryland, as well as in the West Virginia panhandle. A wind advisory for the District of Columbia is in effect until 7 a.m. Sunday as well
The District has already put 60 plows on standby just in case they are needed. Pepco is keeping a close eye on the weather and has scheduled additional line personnel and tree trimming crews to work from Friday evening through the weekend in case of power outages.
By Saturday night, colder air will blast into the region, sending Sunday morning temperatures plunging into the teens. Storm4 meteorologist Tom Kierein warned it could be "stupid cold." People in some areas could wake up to single-digit wind chills. During the daytime Sunday, it will be windy with a high only around 35 degrees.
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