Forecast: Bone-Chilling Inauguration Weather

Late Week Thaw

EXPRESS FORECAST

Today: Windy and cold. Flurries? Low 30s. (Wind chill teens to near 20) | Tonight: Very cold. 18-22. | Tomorrow: Still cold. 32-36. | A Look Ahead

FORECAST IN DETAIL

Dress very warmly if you're headed to the Mall today for Inauguration festivities. Sub-freezing air temperature and bitter cold wind chills will make things uncomfortable for anyone unprepared for the elements. A few snow flurries may even graze us, but the big deal will be the cold, which will continue into tonight as well as Wednesday before a brief late-week thaw propels us into the 40s. Don't count on the warmer weather lasting through the weekend though.

INAUGURATIONCAST
Tuesday, January 20, 2009

MORNING LOW	SWEARING IN*	WEATHER	CHANCE OF PRECIP
20-23F	27-30F	Partly Cloudy	25%

Temperatures: Current area temperatures. Powered by Weather Bonk. Map by Google. Hover over and click icons for more info. Click and hold on map to pan. Refresh page to update. See map bigger on our Weather Wall.

Today (Inauguration Day): Variably cloudy and quite cold with a 1 in 4 chance of snow flurries (best chance midday). High temperatures may reach freezing, but focus on the wind chill. With northerly winds at 10-20 mph (with some higher gusts to 25 mph or so), it will feel like closer to 10-15 degrees early in the morning only moderating to near 20 during the afternoon. Confidence: Medium-High

Tonight: Under clearing skies, temperatures will plunge back through the 20s. Windy conditions through midnight or so will bring the wind chill back down to near 10, so don't skimp on clothing for inaugural balls/parties. Overnight low temperatures will range from the mid-to-high teens (suburbs to city). Confidence: Medium-High



Related Links: Inauguration Weather Features | Previous Inauguration Weather Forecasts | Inauguration Central

*Swearing in is scheduled for noon.

Keep reading for the forecast through the weekend.

Tomorrow (Wednesday): Mostly sunny skies attempt to make a comeback tomorrow. Temperatures will struggle to improve though with highs mainly in the low 30s once more. Confidence: Medium-High

Tomorrow Night: Variable clouds are expected with yet more sub-freezing temperatures in the mid-20s (near 20 in the outer suburbs). Confidence: Medium

A LOOK AHEAD

On Thursday, we can finally start to see a more significant thaw around the area as temperatures surge into the low-to-mid 40s. Look for mostly sunny skies. Confidence: Medium

Friday was our coldest day last week and should be our warmest this week. Temperatures are aiming for the upper 40s right now, but some areas could break into the lower 50s too due to winds from the southwest and mostly sunny sky conditions. Confidence: Medium

The weekend brings back the harsh reality of winter as yet another big cold front sweeps the area. Look for highs in the 30s again with lows in the 20s and teens. More cloud cover is expected again as well. There are some hints of some winter storminess next week across our area, so stay tuned for updates as the week progresses. Confidence: Low-Medium