Tag: slick roads

Temperatures will take a steady nosedive Saturday morning as major wind gusts hit the D.C. region, making it feel much colder.

But it’s not just the bitter cold that residents need to worry about.

“Damaging winds could blow down some trees and power lines, so power outages will be possible,” said 7News First Alert Meteorologist Jordan Evans.

Expect to see wind gusts of 45 to 60 mph, according to WTOP meteorologist Mike Stinneford.

“Wind chills will be as cold as 15 below zero,” Stinneford said. Be careful out there because weather this cold means you could get frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes, he said.

An extreme cold warning and a high wind warning went into effect at 4 a.m. Saturday.

Stinneford said wind gusts of 62 mph were recorded on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge at about 11:30 a.m. Saturday and full wind restrictions are now in effect on the bridge.

The high winds will be an issue all day Saturday throughout the region until around sunset, with temperatures in the teens to lower 20s in the afternoon. The wind will remain steady and strong overnight with wind chills continuing around zero.

The frigid temperatures are expected to stick around a bit longer. The extreme cold warning expires Sunday morning at 10 a.m.

Cold conditions will persist into early Sunday, with temperatures remaining below freezing and wind chills staying below zero.

“By Sunday, we’ll see breezy conditions, but still cold,” said 7News First Alert Meteorologist Steve Rudin. “Monday and Tuesday of next week, we start a modest warming trend.”

In a release from D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, she encouraged residents to remain vigilant while commuting and utilize the city’s Shelter Hotline if they have neighbors experiencing homelessness.

Her office also recommended applying a salt or sand mix when shoveling. Adding ice melt can help prevent refreezing.

Now that the city is reinforcing its shoveling enforcement, officials are also reminding residents and businesses to clear snow from their sidewalks within the first eight hours of daylight or face a fine up to $150.

People experiencing homelessness in D.C. have access to hypothermia shelters during extremely cold weather. A list of those shelters is available online.

For those still dealing with issues from delayed trash removal and pickup, the D.C. Department of Public Works will continue tracking missed trash routes over the weekend in residential areas and alleys.

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How to avoid frostbite

With the windy, cold weather set to take over the D.C. region this weekend, one area doctor is asking the public to be mindful of how much time they spend outside to avoid frostbite.

Dr. Taryn Travis, with MedStar Health and Children’s National Hospital, told WTOP the cold-weather injury doesn’t start out painful. However, once numbness and tingling appear, that is a sign from the body to head inside immediately.

“Frostbite has a couple different ways that it causes damage, but basically, just the cold exposure itself causes frostbite,” Travis said.

Frostbite most often affects the hands and feet, as well as other parts of the body exposed to the elements.

Once you are in a cold environment, the body will divert blood flow away from the fingers and toes to protect the core. Travis said most frostbite injuries occur on the hands, feet, fingers, toes, noses, ears and other parts of the body not connected to the torso.

“It can happen very quickly, and it can happen with small areas of your body not covered and protected from that cold temperature and that additive wind,” she said. “Most importantly, people should keep in mind that when you start to feel numbness and tingling, that’s your body trying to tell you, ‘Hey, I need to get warm, or things are going to go south here.”

The windy conditions increase the risk of frostbite. According to Travis, a person can start to feel the effects within 30 minutes of exposure if not protected from the cold. Even rubbing your hands together to create warmth will not help, she said.

“People who wait on these things and try home remedies or see if it’ll get better on its own are people who end up at risk for amputation,” she said. “So, we don’t want people, other than getting warm again, to try to do anything to treat themselves at home.”

FORECAST

SATURDAY: COLD & WIND ALERT
Very windy and very cold
Highs: 15-22
Wind Chills: -5 to 5
Winds: Northwest 20-30 mph, gusts 45-60 mph

SATURDAY NIGHT: COLD ALERT
Clear, windy and bitterly cold. 
Lows: 5-10
Wind Chills: -15 to 0
Winds: Northwest 15-25 mph, gusts 30-35 mph

SUNDAY: COLD ALERT
Mostly cloudy, breezy
Highs: 22-26
Wind Chills: 10
Winds: Northwest 5-15 mph, gusts 25-30 mph

MONDAY:
Partly cloudy
Highs: 29-33
Winds: West 5 mph

CURRENT CONDITIONS

WTOP’s Jessica Kronzer, Ciara Wells and Jose Umana contributed to this report.

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© 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

Light flurries fell Friday in the D.C. area ahead of a blast of cold air and high winds expected to arrive early Saturday.

The National Weather Service said light snowfall will continue overnight into the weekend. Though less than an inch of snow is expected to fall, it will likely stick and create slick spots on area roads as temperatures drop below freezing on Saturday morning.

If left untreated, roads will be slick and could worsen already rocky conditions for commuters dodging lanes blocked by leftover ice.

Don’t count on warmer temperatures to appear and melt away any potential snowfall off streets and sidewalks.

Wind chills are expected to drop to 10 degrees below zero by Saturday morning right as northwest winds of 10 to 20 mph move in.

“We’ll see that cold front sweep across the area from west to east, winds are going to rapidly increase,” said 7News First Alert Meteorologist Steve Rudin. “Temperatures will fall into the teens and 20s.”

An extreme cold warning and a high wind warning go into effect at 4 a.m. Saturday.

“Our high temperature tomorrow happens before sunrise, in the middle 20s,” Rudin said. “But during the afternoon, temperatures only around 15 to 20 degrees.”

Those high winds are forecast to last through Saturday evening at 7 p.m., with gusts  up to 60 mph expected.

The frigid temperatures are expected to stick around a bit longer. The extreme cold warning expires Sunday morning at 10 a.m.

Cold conditions will persist into early Sunday, with temperatures remaining below freezing and wind chills staying below zero.

“By Sunday, we’ll see breezy conditions, but still cold,” Rudin said. “Monday and Tuesday of next week, we start a modest warming trend.”

In a release from D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, she encouraged residents to remain vigilant while commuting and utilize the city’s Shelter Hotline if they have neighbors experiencing homelessness.

Her office also recommended applying a salt or sand mix when shoveling. Adding ice melt can help prevent refreezing.

Now that the city is reinforcing its shoveling enforcement, officials are also reminding residents and businesses to clear snow from their sidewalks within the first eight hours of daylight or face a fine up to $150.

People experiencing homelessness in D.C. have access to hypothermia shelters during extremely cold weather. A list of those shelters is available online.

For those still dealing with issues from delayed trash removal and pickup, the D.C. Department of Public Works will continue tracking missed trash routes over the weekend in residential areas and alleys.

---

---

How to avoid frostbite

With the windy, cold weather set to take over the D.C. region this weekend, one area doctor is asking the public to be mindful of how much time they spend outside to avoid frostbite.

Dr. Taryn Travis, with MedStar Health and Children’s National Hospital, told WTOP the cold-weather injury doesn’t start out painful. However, once numbness and tingling appear, that is a sign from the body to head inside immediately.

“Frostbite has a couple different ways that it causes damage, but basically, just the cold exposure itself causes frostbite,” Travis said.

Frostbite most often affects the hands and feet, as well as other parts of the body exposed to the elements.

Once you are in a cold environment, the body will divert blood flow away from the fingers and toes to protect the core. Travis said most frostbite injuries occur on the hands, feet, fingers, toes, noses, ears and other parts of the body not connected to the torso.

“It can happen very quickly, and it can happen with small areas of your body not covered and protected from that cold temperature and that additive wind,” she said. “Most importantly, people should keep in mind that when you start to feel numbness and tingling, that’s your body trying to tell you, ‘Hey, I need to get warm, or things are going to go south here.”

The windy conditions increase the risk of frostbite. According to Travis, a person can start to feel the effects within 30 minutes of exposure if not protected from the cold. Even rubbing your hands together to create warmth will not help, she said.

“People who wait on these things and try home remedies or see if it’ll get better on its own are people who end up at risk for amputation,” she said. “So, we don’t want people, other than getting warm again, to try to do anything to treat themselves at home.”

FORECAST

FRIDAY NIGHT:
Partly cloudy
Increasing Winds
Lows: 15-25
Winds: Northwest 10-15, Gusts 30+ mph

SATURDAY: WIND & COLD ALERTS
Mostly sunny, windy
Highs: 25-30
Wind Chills: -15 to 0
Winds: Northwest 20-30 mph, Gusts 40-60 mph

SUNDAY: COLD ALERT
Partly cloudy
Highs: 25-32
Winds: Northwest 5-15, Gusts to 25 mph

CURRENT CONDITIONS

WTOP’s Jessica Kronzer, Ciara Wells and Jose Umana contributed to this report.

Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.

© 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.