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Northern Virginia is in for some weather whiplash. After highs in the 50s in the Baltimore-DC region Wednesday, frigid air will move in and drop temperatures into the teens, the National Weather Service said.

Rain will fall later tonight until about 4 a.m., but there is little chance of snow as temperatures drop to the mid-20s in the DC area. Thursday could be the coldest day of the year so far, one forecast said, with an overnight low in the teens.

Rain and snow showers are possible Saturday morning before temperatures climb back into the 40s.

Wind gusts out of the northwest rising to 32 miles per hour could also bring a wind chill early Thursday, the NWS said.

"The cold front passing through tonight — a little after midnight — may not produce much in the way of precipitation but it will produce a sharp drop in temperatures," The Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang said. "On Thursday, temperatures may not budge, holding in the upper 20s and low 30s all day. Factoring in winds, gusting over 30 mph, it will feel like the teens for the duration. This will be among the coldest days of the winter so far."

Here's the latest Northern Virginia forecast from the National Weather Service:

Wednesday AfternoonCloudy, with a high near 54. South wind 7 to 9 mph.

Wednesday NightA chance of rain before 2am. Cloudy, then gradually becoming partly cloudy, with a low around 26. South wind 8 to 18 mph becoming northwest after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 31 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

ThursdayMostly sunny, with a high near 32. Northwest wind 15 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 29 mph.

Thursday NightMostly clear, with a low around 19. West wind 7 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph.

FridayMostly sunny, with a high near 38. South wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.

Friday NightMostly cloudy, with a low around 31.

SaturdayA chance of rain and snow showers before 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 46. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Saturday NightMostly cloudy, with a low around 25.

SundayPartly sunny, with a high near 32.

Sunday NightMostly clear, with a low around 16.

M.L.King DaySunny, with a high near 35.

Monday NightPartly cloudy, with a low around 15.

TuesdayMostly sunny, with a high near 29.

MANASSAS, VA — Families will get a holiday break from work and school to celebrate the Christmas holiday.

This year, Christmas falls on Thursday, Dec. 25. In Manassas and Prince William County, schools are closed for an extended break. Local government offices and some other services will be closed for several days.

Here are all the openings and closings to know around Manassas and Prince William County for Christmas Eve on Dec. 24 and Christmas Day on Dec. 25.

City of Manassas government offices: Closed on Dec. 24 and 25.

Prince William County government offices: Closed on Dec. 24 and 25.

Manassas City Public Schools: Closed from Dec. 22 to Jan. 2.

Prince William County Public Schools: Closed from Dec. 22 to Jan. 2.

ABC Stores: Virginia ABC stores will close at 6 p.m. on Dec. 24 and be closed on Dec. 25.

Courts: Prince William County courts are closed Dec. 24 to 26.

Department of Motor Vehicles: Virginia DMV locations will close at noon on Dec. 24 and be closed on Dec. 25 and 26.

Libraries: Prince William Public Libraries locations will be closed on Dec. 24 and 25.

Manassas National Battlefield Park: The Henry Hill Visitor Center is closed Dec. 24 to 26.

Metro: Dec. 24 will have a regular weekday schedule from 5 a.m. to midnight. Dec. 25 will bring a reduced Sunday service schedule to Metrorail from 6 a.m. to midnight.

OmniRide: There will be no OmniRide service on Dec. 25. Express service will not run on Dec. 26, but all other bus service will run.

Parks and recreation: Sharron Baucom Dale City Recreation Center, Veterans Memorial Park Community Center, Pat White Center at Ben Lomond, Chinn Aquatics & Fitness Center and Birchdale Community Center are closed on Dec. 24 and 25.

Post offices: Closed on Dec. 25.

Trash and recycling: In the City of Manassas, there will be no trash and recycling service on Dec. 25. Thursday and Friday customers will get pickups one day later. If you have a private trash collector, check with them for any schedule changes.

Trash and recycling centers: The Prince William County landfill will close at 2 p.m. on Dec. 24 and be closed on Dec. 25.

Virginia Railway Express: VRE will run on an S schedule on Dec. 24 and not run on Dec. 25 and 26.

Virginians tired of the shorter days that accompany winter are in for a bit of relief now that January has arrived.

Dec. 21 marked the winter solstice, or the shortest day of the year. On that day, most parts of Virginia clocked only 9 hours and 26 minutes of daylight.

Now that the solstice has come and gone, the amount of sunlight we get in a day will start to rapidly increase, with some parts of the United States gaining more than an hour by month’s end, according to a new AccuWeather report.

"Since the solstice, daylight has been slowly increasing while nights have been shrinking," AccuWeather forecasters wrote. "In the days immediately following the solstice, the daily change was just a few seconds from day to day, but as January progresses, the shift becomes easier to notice."

According to AccuWeather, Virginia is expected to gain around 40 minutes of additional sunlight by the end of January. On Jan. 31, the sun is expected to set around 5:28 p.m. in Northern Virginia.

Nationally, on Jan. 31, much of the southern United States will see 20 to 30 minutes more daylight compared to the first day of the month.

The change is more dramatic farther north. Across large parts of the northern United States, January's final day will contain more than an hour of additional daylight compared to the first day of the month.

Looking ahead, days will continue to get longer through the spring equinox on March 20. The equinox marks the turning point when daylight begins to win out over darkness, according to The Farmers' Almanac.

On the equinox, the direct rays of the sun are shining down on the equator, producing the effect of equal day and night, give or take a few minutes. This means that on the equinox, day and night are equal to exactly 12 hours all over the world.

After the equinox, the direct rays of the sun migrate north of the equator, with hours of daylight steadily growing longer until the summer solstice. After the summer solstice, the direct rays proceed to head south and days begin to grow shorter.

While the days are growing longer, that doesn't necessarily mean temperatures will go up.

"The sun remains low in the sky, and its angle is still too weak to deliver much warmth," AccuWeather forecasters wrote. "But as daylight continues to increase in the months ahead, the sun will climb higher overhead, gradually boosting temperatures and signaling the slow march toward spring."

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MANASSAS, VA — Manassas residents will head into the new year starting with a holiday, prompting closures and schedule changes affecting government offices, schools, transit and other services.

Here are the openings and closures to know on Thursday, Jan. 1:

City of Manassas government offices: Closed on Jan. 1.

Prince William County government offices: Closed on Jan. 1.

Manassas City Public Schools: Closed from Dec. 22 to Jan. 2.

Prince William County Public Schools: Closed from Dec. 22 to Jan. 2.

ABC Stores: Virginia ABC stores will close at 8 p.m. on Dec. 31 and be open from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Jan. 1.

Community center: The City of Manassas Community Center is closed on Jan. 1.

Courts: Prince William County courts are closed Dec. 31 and Jan. 1.

Department of Motor Vehicles: Virginia DMV locations will be closed on Jan. 1.

Libraries: Prince William Public Libraries close at 5 p.m. on Dec. 31 and are closed on Jan. 1.

Manassas National Battlefield Park: The Henry Hill Visitor Center is closed Jan. 1.

Metro: Metro will have weekday service from 5 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Dec. 31 and weekend late night service from 6 a.m. to midnight. Fares will be free from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Dec. 31.

OmniRide: There will be no bus service on Jan. 1.

Parks and recreation: On Dec. 31, Chinn Aquatics & Fitness Center is open from 5 a.m. to 2 p.m., Sharron Baucom Dale City Recreation Center is open from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., Pat White Center at Ben Lomond is open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Veterans Park Community Center is open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. On Jan. 1, all parks and recreation buildings will be closed. There will be a First Day Hike at Bristoe Station Battlefield from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Post offices: Closed on Jan. 1.

Trash and recycling: The City of Manassas will have no collections on Jan. 1. Thursday collections will be moved to Friday, and Friday collections will be moved to Saturday. If you have a private trash collector, check with them for any schedule changes.

Trash and recycling centers: The Prince William County landfill will be closed on Jan. 1.

Virginia Railway Express: VRE will run on an S schedule on Dec. 31 and not run on Jan. 1 and 2.