Forecast: Spring Warmth Stays For One More Day

I am moving! Winter is over.

Record high today is 75... we won't reach that, but it's WARM. And windy.

Sure does look like things will interesting around here on 1/2-1/3 acoording to 12z.

@StormChaserMan--

Interesting if you like rain,then wind...

Amen, GregRAINMAN. I think winter 2008-09 in D.C. will = epic FAIL.

Why no mention of thunder this afternoon with the front? Conditions are ideal (more or less) for a squall line, even with the cloud cover. Strong winds aloft with shear, plenty of warm, humid air ahead of the front, and a fairly big temperature difference across the front. Don't think that just beause it's winter, you can't have thunder...as what happened west of the mountains yesterday proved. In fact, severe thunderstorms and tornadoes are quite common in Florida and on the Gulf Coast in wintertime....even up into the lower Midwest. They are often worse than summer thunderstorms there, because of strong cold fronts that are lacking in the summertime.

@MMCarhelp

We mentioned the slight possibility of a thunderstorm in yesterday's forecast, but the upper level dynamics are pretty weak (weak vorticity, weak lift) and the instability -- as you mentioned-- is unimpressive due to cloud cover. So we felt no need to mention. We may be hard pressed to even get a shower.

Most likely it's rain & wind, but 132 hour plots look borderline "at this run" with near freezing/steadily falling surface temps & moisture still pushing west to east....

I'll hold my thoughts until models are more reliable....

@StormChaserMan

Do agree it looks like a potentially dynamic situation worth watching...

Temps will b above average thru at laest Jan 8. Chance of any accumulating snow, 1%. This winter is once again shaping up as warm with little if any snow. I originally thought this winter would b sesason with 14-18" of snow, now looking above av. with less than 6" of snow, unless we luck into a big coastal storm. Guess this is what future winters will b like.

I blame the lack of Snow on the fact that CWG moved over to the Post!

@Greg

It hardly snowed before the Post either. We launched CapitalWeather.com in 2004 and all the winters have been pretty lame since :(

I think I just heard a rumble from the west here in Western Alexandria... the sky looks VERY dark... but the radar on your site still sweeps clear...

70 degrees in Lake Ridge. It is PITCH BLACK up to our north (southern FFX county). Radar doesn't show anything, but if you live in Fairfax, be prepared for something to pop up with the looks of the sky. Dark clouds appear to be moving NNE.

I am loving this weather - winter should never be colder than this. Bring on spring and summer!

Why does it have to be MUGGY? I rolled down my car window to catch some breezes. The cool April temperatures, that's fine, but- Please. No. Humidity. Is it like some unwritten code that DC has to be humid over 60 degrees?
I called my mom-- "Mom, guess what? It is over 60 degrees!" her reply: "I thought it was cold there, you told me it was subfreezing..."
Perplexing, I know Mom, it is OK... DC is just jacked up.

FormerSanDiegan:

You have hit on something I have noticed living in the East. In the spring and fall, temps in the 50s and 60s and 70s are generally very nice. Very dry air, clear skies. This is because, in the warmer months, these temperatures are the result of cool fronts - of NW flow.

But in winter, 50s, 60s, and 70s are often the result of WARM fronts - SE flow - and therefore are generally very humid. A good rule of thumb in this area is that, in winter, above average temperatures are usually (not always) associated with more moist SE winds, and therefore the humidity rises.

Well, Jason, neither of us were right. Not only did we not get thunder, but the whole band of showers with the front dissipated as it came East of the Blue Ridge. Seems like it was somehow affected by a downslope component that somehow overruled the surface convergence.

MMCarhelp -- hmmm ... Jason said "We may be hard pressed to even get a shower," and our forecast put the chances of showers at 50%. So actually he/we kind of were right.

Ants!!! This happened around Thanksgiving or early Dec as well with rain accompanied by a freak warm-up. Hate it. Never had them before, but since I removed my front tree in May, have had these 2 incidents. I know it's weather-related, used to happen at my mom's house all the time - a quick warm up or rapid weather change, usually with rain, and they come get in the house. I've sealed up whatever I can along the front of the house, but once again, I had to vacuum and mop down the floor and walls where I found them to remove their scent trail.

I absolutely hate mild winters. The bugs will be out like nobody's business in the spring if we don't get enough cold weather to keep the populations down.

I walk in all kinds of weather, as long as there is no thunder, etc., and I admit I enjoyed the break from bundling up the last two days, but I know we pay a price for the warmer days at this time of year.

Can't wait for the temps to get back to normal.

Anybody who doesnt like winter weather, well you in luck b/c i don't think there will be any to speak of at least the next week and maybe week and a half. The way its looking as of now, January is on the verge of going either way with temps and precip. Stay tuned! Of course if you like winter weather!

DCA hit 70 today. Hard to believe the high was just 28 six days ago.