PM Update: Coldest air of the season so far pours in through Tuesday

Highs in the mid-40s to near 50 felt chillier than that thanks to wind gusting between 30 and 40 mph behind a cold front. Today’s blustery conditions are just a small preview of what’s to come. It’ll turn colder through Tuesday as winds stay gusty, leading to the coldest temperatures and wind chills of the season so far.

Through tonight: Skies should stay mainly clear through the night. Temperatures will fall to the 20s in most spots but be closer to freezing downtown. Winds probably will blow about 5 to 10 mph out of the west and northwest, with higher gusts.

Tomorrow (Tuesday): A mix of sun and clouds won’t prove too helpful against wind chills and the coldest readings so far this season. Highs will probably be in the mid-30s to near 40. But when you add in the wind blowing about 15 to 20 mph, and gusting past 30 mph, wind chills will be a good 10 to 15 degrees lower than the actual temperature much of the day.

See Jason Samenow’s forecast through the weekend . And if you haven’t already, join us on Facebook and follow us on X and Instagram . For related traffic news, check out Gridlock .

The last non-freeze standing: Washington should finally snag its first official freeze tonight or Tuesday night. If and when that happens, it will be the latest first freeze since 2011, when it didn’t arrive until Dec. 10. Last year’s first freeze came on Nov. 18, with the average being Nov. 17.