Forecast: Bone-Chilling Inauguration Weather
Late Week Thaw
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.





Tuesday, January 20, 2009
MORNING LOW | SWEARING IN* | WEATHER | CHANCE OF PRECIP |
20-23F | 27-30F | Partly Cloudy | 25% |
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
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
By
Matt Rogers
| January 20, 2009; 4:00 AM ET
Categories:
Forecasts
| Tags:
dc weather, inauguration forecast, inauguration weather, inauguration weather forecast, washington dc weather, washington weather
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Posted by: dynagirl | January 20, 2009 11:54 AM | Report abuse
Hopefully Obama will usher in a new era of snow!
Posted by: bdeco | January 20, 2009 12:56 PM | Report abuse
January thaw, dynagirl?? I'm still waiting for SNOW around here!!! Nonetheless we may see some boring forties Thursday or Friday.
Inaugural weather was bright & clear despite some forecasts of flurries.
There's a hint from the preliminary extended outlook that next week, Tuesday & Wednesday could get interesting.
Posted by: Bombo47jea | January 20, 2009 2:00 PM | Report abuse
At about 2 a.m. this morning, as I was walking home from the metro in my ball gown and fleece-lined boots (which I had changed into), I ran into a group of people playing glow-in-the-dark frisbee.
cold or not, people are out celebrating. not to totally cheese out, but it's amazing how warming hundreds (thousands, millions) of joyous people can be.
Posted by: dinergirl | January 20, 2009 2:08 PM | Report abuse
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Where is the January thaw??? It's been like this since before Thanksgiving! I'm ready to move.