Forecast: A Labor Day Weekend Worth Bottling

Spectacular September weather continues

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EXPRESS FORECAST

Today: Partly to mostly sunny. Low-to-mid 80s. | Tonight: Virtually clear. Mid-50s to low 60s. | Tomorrow: Mostly sunny, warmer. Mid-to-upper 80s. | Sunday: Partly to mostly sunny & still dry! Mid-80s. | A Look Ahead | Get Express Forecast by E-mail

FORECAST IN DETAIL

If only every holiday weekend could be like this. All looks good through Labor Day with partly to mostly sunny skies and highs in the 80s. Enjoy the nice weather, but slap on that sunscreen in this last pool/beach weekend for most of us. Humidity remains on the low side and breezes stay pleasant. But note that in this dry air mass, temperatures fall rather quickly after sunset, and start just a tad chilly each morning.

Today (Friday): Partly to mostly sunny and warm with highs in the low-to-mid 80s. A nice, light breeze out of the north/northeast should keep us refreshed, too. If you get stuck in beach traffic, at least you can roll down your windows! Confidence: High

Tonight: A nice, clear night to look at that moon. Low temperatures downtown should get down to the low 60s to near 60, and many places outside the Beltway will likely cool down to the "chilly" mid-50s. I don't know about you, but I'm still acclimating to this autumn preview. Confidence: High

Can we really avoid high heat, humidity and rain the whole holiday weekend? Keep reading...

Tomorrow (Saturday): Mostly sunny and warmer, but not an oppressive heat. Really, highs in the mid-to-upper 80s will be gorgeous. But remember that UV will be high, especially between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Sunglasses & sunscreen, on! Despite the more summer-like warmth, a stable air mass means we won't face the threat of summertime thunderstorms. Confidence: High

Tomorrow Night: Partly to mostly clear. Low temperatures in the low 60s downtown, but still expect some 50s in the suburbs. Confidence: Medium-High

Sunday: Another day to throw around that frisbee. Partly to mostly sunny skies should prevail with highs in the middle 80s. Break out that grill! Confidence: Medium

A LOOK AHEAD

A partly cloudy end to our weekend on Sunday night with dry conditions and lows in the low-to-mid 60s. Confidence: Medium

Assuming a front doesn't approach our area too quickly, Labor Day and Tuesday should still be at least partly sunny with little or no chance of rain, highs around the low 80s, and maybe a touch of humidity. Can you believe this streak of grand weather??!! Confidence: Medium

BEACHCAST

Heading to the Maryland or Delaware beaches for the weekend? Conditions should be fairly similar to those we'll experience in the immediate D.C. area, except for partly to mostly cloudy skies today along with the chance of an isolated shower or two and highs in the upper 70s to near 80. Otherwise, partly to mostly sunny skies are expected Saturday through Monday with highs mainly in the low 80s.

If you're heading up to Cape May, N.J., you can also expect partly to mostly cloudy skies today with an isolated shower chance and highs in the mid-to-upper 70s. But otherwise, quite a bit of sun and generally dry weather Saturday through Monday with highs in the upper 70s to near 80. Conditions look much the same if your travels take you to Virginia Beach, except a little warmer Saturday through Monday with highs generally in the low 80s.

Finally, if you're spending time further south -- at the Outer Banks -- expect mostly cloudy skies today and then partly sunny skies Saturday through Monday. Highs should be around 80 over the course of the holiday weekend with a daily chance of an isolated shower or thunderstorm here and there.-Josh Larson