The National Weather Service's cold weather warning will end at 10 a.m. Thursday, with temperatures expected to climb in the Baltimore area.
Thursday is expected to be sunny with temperatures near 32 degrees and light south-westerly winds. Friday night lows are expected to be around 18°C, significantly higher than the single digits seen earlier in the week.
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It is expected to be sunny on Friday, with a maximum temperature of about 34°C, and on Saturday, it is expected to be sunny, with a maximum temperature of about 35°C.
Next week will be even warmer, with highs between 44 and 45 degrees Sunday through Wednesday, with cloudy to partly sunny skies.
That's a change from recent temperatures, which have been 10 to 20 degrees below average, said Weather Service meteorologist Brendon Rubin-Oster.
“We're not breaking any daily records,” Rubin-Oster said Wednesday of the early-week cold, “but it's certainly going to keep temperatures well below normal.”
The “Code Blue” announced by the Baltimore City Health Department remains in effect until Thursday. The decision is intended to reduce deaths from hypothermia among homeless people, the elderly and other groups vulnerable to extreme cold. It sparked several public safety initiatives, including the Salvation Army’s free hot drinks program.
Resources and emergency services for homeless activated amid freezing cold
A body was removed from a burning vacant house on North Main Street after a code blue went into effect Sunday night.
Additionally, the Mayor's Office of Homeless Services has extended its Code Purple winter shelter activation hours to 9 a.m. Thursday.
As happened earlier this month, this latest cold snap comes from disruptions in the polar vortex, the ring of cold air that normally traps the Arctic.
Rubin-Oster explained that as the jet stream that brought snow to Louisiana this week weakens, the Baltimore area should see a return to normal temperatures.
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