Get ready for some wet and frigid weather to hit the First State as we approach Christmas.
According to the National Weather Service, periods of rain starting during the day Thursday across the entire state will continue through Friday morning with one-to-inches of rain expected.
National Weather Service meteorologist Alex Staarmann says after the rain departs, temperatures will drop.
"Once the rain ends there'll be a very strong arctic cold front that moves through dropping temperatures well below freezing very quickly during the daytime on Friday. And that will also mark the beginning of a period of pretty strong windy conditions," said Staarmann.
There will be a period of strong windy conditions with gusts 40 to 50 MPH and minor coastal flooding Friday morning and afternoon.
There’s also some potential for light snow showers, but no impacts are expected, though some icy spots are possible Friday night from any standing water.
And Friday night will see very low wind chills according to Staarmann.
"Wind chill values Friday night will be as low as -5 to 0° across the state, and then wind chills on Saturday probably won't get much above about 10°,” said Staarmann. “So even though temperatures will be in the low-to-mid 20s it'll feel like it's pretty much around 10° all day."
The cold temps will not bring any records to Wilmington for Christmas according to Staarmann. The coldest Christmas in Wilmington was in 1983 when the high was 10 degrees. The record low is -7.
Temperatures will rise slowly and return to normal levels early next week with winds starting to die down Saturday into Christmas Day Sunday.
