Will Rockville Come Close To Beating Coldest Day On Record?

ROCKVILLE, MD — The weather gurus warned the polar vortex, teaming with a wicked wind, would make it miserable in Rockville. They weren't wrong.

We'd ask "how cold is it in Rockville?" if a) it weren't such a tired joke and b) if we thought it was possible for you to manage the answer through your chattering teeth.

Fortunately, we don't have to.

The National Weather Service has invoked frightful words and phrases such as "polar vortex" and "life-threatening cold" to describe the arctic air that settled over the Upper Midwest, including Maryland, last weekend.

The blast of cold air will keep temperatures in the high 20s in Rockville over the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.

Here's a closer look at this weekend's forecast:

• Saturday: Snow and freezing rain likely before 4 p.m., then freezing rain, possibly mixed with snow and sleet. High near 31. Northeast wind around 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Little or no ice accumulation expected. New snow and sleet accumulation of less than a half-inch possible.
• Saturday Night: Freezing rain and sleet, possibly mixed with snow before midnight, then freezing rain, possibly mixed with sleet between midnight and 3 a.m., then freezing rain after 3 a.m. Low around 29. North wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%.
• Sunday: A chance of freezing rain before 11 a.m., then a chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 39. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
• Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 28.

But is this the coldest it's ever been in Maryland?

No.

Maryland's record cold temperature was recorded on Jan. 13, 1912, when the temperature in the Rockville area was 40 degrees below zero, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Center for Environmental Education.

SEE ALSO: The Polar Vortex Returns: Prevent Pipe-Freezing; Should You Warm Up Your Car?

That temperature record may not be broken in this blast of bitter arctic air, but the polar vortex is unusual because the frigid cold is expected to stick around at least through Valentine's Day.

A meteorological phenomenon that hasn't hit the United States since 2019, a polar vortex is a large area of low pressure located near the poles; and at times during the winter months, the low pressure breaks down, sending south all that bottled-up cold air.

The result? Extremely frigid temperatures and huge plunges of cold air.

This one is living up to its billing.

It has been frightfully cold over much of the north-central United States. On Tuesday, double-digit subzero temperatures were common as far south as Iowa, and the National Weather Service in Grand Forks, North Dakota, warned the frigid temperatures are made worse by a wind that may make it feel like minus 50 degrees through Sunday.

Rockville has reported lows around 25 this week while girding itself for even colder weather ahead.

Temperatures may struggle to make it above zero in many areas over the next week. The stretch of bitterly cold weather was expected to plunge every U.S. state, including Hawaii, below freezing.

Don't lose hope. Spring is coming, and summer after that — though now might not be the time to tell you summer can bring extreme heat to many areas of the United States. The record high temperature in the Rockville area was 109 degrees — recorded once in 1898, twice in 1918, and again in 1936.

But even if it does get that hot again in these parts, we won't be missing the polar vortex, will we?