An arctic front whistled across the Eastern Shore on Friday, Dec. 23, causing flooding in low-lying waterfront areas, sporadic power outages, and dropping temperatures.
On the bayside of Accomack and Northampton counties, images showed floodwaters pooling in the customary spots — like the Onancock boat ramp and streets that access it.
The Wakefield office of the National Weather Service released this Friday forecast:
An Arctic front pushes through this morning. A very brief changeover from rain to snow is possible, but little to no accumulation is expected.
Temperatures will quickly drop below freezing in the 1-2 hours following the frontal passage, and will drop into the low-mid 20s by afternoon and teens by evening. This could cause flash freezing of water on some road surfaces, resulting in black ice.
A brief period of 40 to 50 mph wind gusts (potentially up to 60 mph near the coast) are likely immediately after the frontal passage. Frequent gusts of 35 to 45 mph are then expected for the remainder of the day on Friday.
Strong west winds will cause moderate to potentially major tidal flooding on the west side of the Eastern Shore during the Friday afternoon high tide.
Dangerously cold wind chills as low as 0 to -10 degrees are possible Friday night into Saturday morning.
