South winds promise mild New Year's Eve

Marylanders planning to step out on Friday night to celebrate and watch some fireworks should have a relatively pleasant evening for it. Forecasters out at Sterling promise late-evening temperatures in the 40s with no precipitation and light winds.

After a month of unusually cold and windy weather, winter is finally taking a breather. As this sunny high pressure system moves off the coast Friday, we'll get winds from the south and mild temperatures. Highs Friday through Sunday will cluster near 50 degrees, with overnight lows Friday and Saturday nights near 40 degrees.

The only hitch may be the chance for showers, beginning in the afternoon on 1/1/11, rising to 50 percent overnight into Sunday. There's a 30 percent chance for more showers on Sunday ahead of an approaching cold front. The good news is that all the precipitation will be liquid, washing some of the salt off our cars and streets.

The first work week of the new year looks to start out sunny, with more seasonable temperatures in the low 40s, and lows in the 20s.

This morning's forecast discussion from Sterling notes that the coldest New Year's Eve on record for Baltimore occurred in 1880, when the late-night low was minus-1 degree F. The low down in DC that night was minus-13 degrees. And it slipped to minus-14 before dawn on Jan. 1, 1881. The all-time record low for DC is minus-15 degrees, on Feb. 11, 1899.

Baltimore's record is minus-7 degrees.

(SUN PHOTO: Gene Sweeney Jr., Jan. 1, 2009)

South winds promise mild New Year's Eve

Don't miss our 4th of July sale!
Save big on local news.

SALE ENDS SOON

$1 FOR 12 WEEKS

Don't miss our 4th of July sale!Save big on local news.

SALE ENDS SOON

$1 FOR 12 WEEKS

Don't miss our 4th of July sale!
Save big on local news.