Dan, what are the predicted rainfall amounts for the weekend? I am in Stafford, VA. Thanks!

With the GFS and ECMWF tracking the system to our south Sat. and Sat. night, we can look forward to a cold rain that may change to snow, Sat. eve. and overnight, especially west and high elevations.
QP amounts should vary widely from north to south, but a general .50-1.00" should be in the ballpark.

This will only be the beginning, of what will probably be a colder than normal late March and early April.

Put the winter coat away for the season last night. Love these cool, crisp mornings followed by the strong March sun warming up the afternoons.

Canadian lightning data this morning: Only a few isolated strikes in the Atlantic off FL, GA, SC.

I have a big question too about how much rain we'll get Saturday and will it be a continual washout? Frankly I'd prefer something more like last Saturday, with dry periods when I can get out & run my errands without too much interference from rain & wind.

Last night's dance was dry and well-attended. My big issue for Friday evening seems to involve the possible thunderstorm threat between 7 and 8:30 PM. I'd rather NOT have lightning around when trying to get to the dance. Otherwise my big rain issue hits me Saturday.

David A -- A half-inch is certainly doable, with an inch not out of the question. However, the models currently put us toward the northern fringe of the heaviest precipitation, which means uncertainty is quite high (i.e., a slight shift southward in the storm track could greatly reduce our amounts).

Dear Weather Gods,

Please bring on spring here into the Washington D.C. area. We like the rain but we are sick of the cold. After a winter with little snow cut us a break and bring on the warmth.

Thanks !

One sad fact about moving to the Post is that the 'comfortable' feel of the old CapWx blog is gone and in short time, I fear negative comments will drive away the 'regulars' and all that will be left will be another stale web page at washingtonpost.com.

Hey El Bombo can you do us favor? Enough all ready about how your dance card is so impacted by the weather. For crying out loud is it that hard to get to a dance? Get an umbrella or a rain suit to put over your dress and just deal with it like the rest of us.

I too miss the comfortable feel of the old site. I enjoy El Bombo's take on the weather and hope that those who don't will avoid the comments section. I'd much rather read one of El Bombo's comments than a mean-spirited rant.

Dan, thank you for your reply....

Waaaaaa the dance is ruined!!! RAIN!!!!!!!
Nooooooo! Boooohooo!!! Jesus christ, are your dances outside or something?

Hey mean-O, stop with the criticism.

You know, if you stress over something too much, it's not too god for your heart. So Enough-O and Whine-o, do yourselves a favor and just forget about El Bombo's dances.

Wow, take a chill pill, people. (or snowlover's pill?)

Those of you who think "OMG, so-and-so complained about the weather with respect to their particular life situation, it must be a HUGE deal", maybe you should think twice before posting. You have no idea from a little comment with minimal information if it's a huge deal or just a slight inconvenience.

Maybe it's just kind of a little bit of a pain, maybe it's having to wait for the bus for 20 minutes in pouring rain (with umbrella + trenchcoat, you can still get pretty soaked). Maybe you're making fun of someone with a disability, like poor sight that would make traveling in bad weather that much worse. You have no idea. Neither do I. Stop and think how little information you have and how many assumptions you are making on a few sentences you happen to read.

And then please realize if it's that big of an issue that you find you have to yell at someone online, maybe you should look at stress management.

Jeez folks, can't we all just get along? Regulars, newcomers alike are all welcome. Mean-spirited comments can be easily ignored. Meanwhile, we can hopefully add over time to our loyal stable of regulars.

Thank you Dan.

Call me odd, but I enjoy El Bombo's posts. I guess I get a kick out of someone being so weather-involved. Of course, on this site we're all weather-involved, but El B. seems downright passionate about it, esp rain. Now for me, it's wind. I mentioned once that I live in a tall house on a tall hill in the countryside near Harpers Ferry. I've become obsessed with the wind! Just ask my neighbors.... :)

This winter has been a true disappointment. A majority of Washingtonians would love to see a huge snow storm before April 15th... if the NAO can maintain a negative trend... we may get our wish around Easter.