The storm system that brought the snow and mixed precipitation to the area on Tuesday has exited the northeast United States. A blast of colder air has settled in behind it.
As high pressure builds across the area Wednesday night into Thursday morning, clear skies, light winds and some residual snow cover will allow low temperatures to drop into the teens and 20s.
Many areas will achieve either record or near-record low temperatures. The normal low for March 27 is 40°, and the record for Richmond is 21°. If conditions become truly ideal for temperatures to really drop, the potential to tie or break the record is definitely in the realm of possibility. In terms of the past few years, the last date that the low temperature dropped to a similar level occurred in either mid-February or early March.
This pocket of cold air will lift out of the area Thursday afternoon. As a storm approaches from the west, warmer air will get pushed into the area via southwesterly winds Friday into Saturday.
