The new Washington
Jump to CWG's
Outside now? Radar, temps
Follow us on Twitter
Find us on Facebook
Forecast: Warmer Weather on the Way
Weekend Weather Worry?
* Higher Warming Projections | Later: Drought Developing? *
Today: Mostly sunny. 39-43. | Tonight: Mostly clear. 15-24.| Tomorrow: Mostly sunny. 49-53. | A Look Ahead
FORECAST IN DETAIL
Yesterday was probably our coldest day of the week but fortunately it is only uphill from that cold, windy weather. In fact, we may be able to jump ten degrees each of the next three days. That means 40s today, 50s tomorrow, and possibly a run at 60 on Thursday before the next cold front arrives. Yes, unfortunately, we do not seem to go long around here this winter without another cold front to discuss. This next one could complicate our weekend.
Today (Tuesday): Sunshine will abound, but breezes from the northwest at 10-15 mph will still add some wind chill to the air. Look for lower 40s for highs in most locations today. Confidence: High
Tonight: Clear skies and calmer winds tonight will create excellent radiational cooling effects. That means that the temperature range from the outer suburbs to downtown could be very large. The less urban areas around the city could see lows in the low-to-mid teens, while downtown could see lower 20s. Confidence: Medium
Keep reading for the forecast through the weekend...
Tomorrow (Wednesday): A major shift in wind direction (now coming from the south) will significantly help the case for warmer weather and we'll be looking for highs in the upper 40s to lower 50s with copious sunshine. Confidence: Medium-High
Tomorrow Night: Partly cloudy skies are expected along with low temperatures only reaching down to the lower 30s (city) and upper 20s (outer suburbs). Light winds from the south are expected. Confidence: Medium
Ducks swim as a snow shower dusts Oakton, Va. Sunday morning. By Capital Weather Gang photographer Kevin Ambrose.
Thursday is our best day of this week due to the combination of dry weather along with temperatures in the upper 50s to maybe, just maybe, lower 60s. We should expect more cloud cover than today and Wednesday, but still should see the sun too. Confidence: Medium
Friday is still warm most of the day, but we are expecting a major cold front to come along and trigger mainly afternoon and evening showers and possibly even a thunderstorm. Lows Friday morning should be in the 40s with daytime highs back up in the upper 50s to around 60 again. Confidence: Low-Medium
The weekend story is one of winter once more, unfortunately. Colder than normal conditions are expected with highs in the 40s and lows in the 20s to lower 30s. This weekend does have a wildcard though as a low pressure area may form along the cold front and come back north again toward our region. If it does, it could threaten some winter weather. Based on the track record of these types of threats this winter, this is only a minor worry and something just to monitor in the days ahead. Confidence: Low
By
Matt Rogers
| February 24, 2009; 5:00 AM ET
Categories:
Forecasts
Save & Share:
Previous: PM Update: Winter's Chill Continues
Next: Dry Fall and Winter a Prelude to Drought?
Posted by: stewardsteven | February 24, 2009 6:07 AM | Report abuse
@stewardsteven
The situation is very uncertain, but I'd say precip would be more likely Sunday.
Posted by: Jason-CapitalWeatherGang | February 24, 2009 8:39 AM | Report abuse
If we get well up into the 60's by the end of the week, decent dew points, and get another sharp cold front, you know what that could mean....a squall line and another round of thunderstorms like a couple of weeks ago, particularly if the jet aloft is strong enough.
On a larger note, it is amazing the number of lows this year that have passed north of us, rather than south of us, going up the coast, like a normal winter. In a normal winter, we expect a couple of Alberta clippers scooting by north of us, one or two storms going up the Appalachians west of us putting us into the warm sector (if we don't have cold-air damming E of the mountains), and the rest forming along the Gulf or Carolina coasts and tracking NE, offshore. But this winter just seems to be the same thing on and on.....big, powerful lows moving N of us, continually giving us short periods of mixed precip and then strong NW winds and cold conditions behind them. Frankly, it's getting rather boring.
Posted by: MMCarhelp | February 24, 2009 8:56 AM | Report abuse
MMCarhelp: What you said. I'm getting weary of all this COOOOOOLD WIND. After this weekend, bring it, Spring!
Posted by: weathergrrl | February 24, 2009 9:24 AM | Report abuse
i'm on board the spring bandwagon. i'm getting tired of the wind and cold.
Posted by: tengoalyrunr30 | February 24, 2009 9:56 AM | Report abuse
Still, much too cold and windy--wasn't the wind supposed to ease up today??? MMCarhelp is basically saying what I've been observing--it seems to be related to the excessively zonal upper air flow we've been having all winter, probably a consequence of the lingering La Nina.
Today is "Fat Tuesday" probably the real end of meteorological winter, and it has been a real bust so far as winter weather has been concerned! The "highlight" of Winter 2008/09 seems to have been the thundersnow squall on New Years Eve, which left exactly zero accumulation. Total snow/ice accumulation has been two inches or less, even below our miserable 2007/08 figure.
Unless we get some March surprises or a 2009 Superstorm, we will have one of the more memorable non-winters in our history. The only factor of note this winter has been the repeated incidence of cold temperatures probably due to snow accumulations to our north and west. This lack of snow cover is probably harmful to local plant life.
Posted by: Bombo47jea | February 24, 2009 11:20 AM | Report abuse
Agreed - unless something fruitful comes out of this front on Sunday it is time to bring on the Spring. This cold STINKS!
Posted by: mjwies11 | February 24, 2009 12:23 PM | Report abuse
The comments to this entry are closed.
Flying out of IAD on Saturday. IF, if, if, there is winter weather this weekend, would it be more likely to hit us on Sat. or Sunday? Thanks!