Forecast: Mighty fine weekend follows Friday chill

Cold tonight; Freeze Warning along & east of I-95

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EXPRESS FORECAST

Today: Bright sun. Breezy. Low 50s. | Tonight: Clear & chilly. Upper 20s to mid-30s. | Tomorrow: Mostly sunny. Upper 50s to low 60s. | Sunday: Mostly sunny, oh-so-pleasant. Upper 60s. | A Look Ahead | Get Express Forecast by E-mail

FORECAST IN DETAIL

Payback time. After all those weekends and multi-day periods of cold rain, drizzle, clouds, and general blahness, we cash in and then some this weekend. Just brave today's breezy chill, and the weekend will prove very enjoyable with sunshine and pleasant temperatures, both of which look to stay through Monday.

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 (Friday): Gorgeous sunny skies. But dress for some wind chill, especially noticeable in the shade. Breezes from the northwest could gust to near 25 mph at times before slowing during the afternoon. Temperatures will climb rather slowly. But afternoon highs in the low 50s will feel fairly pleasant in the sun. No chance of any showers like those that popped up yesterday afternoon. Confidence: High

Tonight: Clear and...freezing? This could be the first freeze for areas along & east of I-95 where a Freeze Warning has been posted (see map). So plant those mums if you haven't already, and bring in the sensitive plants. Lows downtown should drop at least down to the mid-30s. With winds expected to go nearly calm, low 30s and some upper 20s are likely outside the Beltway. Confidence: High

A full weekend of sun? Keep reading for the forecast into early next week...

Tomorrow (Saturday): After our chilly start in the 30s (some upper 20s possible in the suburbs), light breezes from the south help temperatures rebound all the way to the upper 50s to low 60s for afternoon highs. I recommend dressing in an extra layer to peel off as the day warms. No rain chances today either, just mostly sunny skies! Confidence: High

Tomorrow Night: Mostly clear again but a little milder than tonight. Lows in the upper 30s to mid-40s (suburbs to city) by dawn. Probably no frost to worry about tonight, at least. Confidence: High

Sunday: Sunny, pleasant, dry -- even warmer than Saturday. Highs should make the upper 60s. And as Josh Larson mentioned yesterday, a few spots could hit 70. Get out and bask in the sun while it's out. Theses short days are a bummer, at least for me! Confidence: High

A LOOK AHEAD

Skies remain mostly clear Sunday night with lows in the 40s. Confidence: Medium-High

Continued splendid sunshine again on Monday with highs in the upper 60s to near 70. A great streak of autumn! Can it continue?... Confidence: Medium

Depending on the progress of the next weather system approaching from the west, Tuesday could bring increasing clouds and eventually a chance of showers. Highs in the 60s to near 70. Confidence: Low-Medium

By Camden Walker |  November 6, 2009; 8:50 AM ET Forecasts
Previous: PM Update: A shower or two, then clearing | Next: CWG shoots the breeze with Washingtonian.com

Comments

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How about that brisk walk to work, eh? Wind and cold make you walk any faster??

Posted by: Camden-CapitalWeatherGang | November 6, 2009 10:00 AM
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@Camden: Aargh! It seemed the wind picked up after sunrise ... when I first left the house at 5 a.m. it didn't seem so bad, but when I had to stand on an outdoor Metro platform at 9, it seemed downright bitter! (Probably all perception -- I was more awake at 9 than at 5.)

Posted by: joseph4 | November 6, 2009 10:56 AM
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Freeze warning???

As I recall a FREEZE WARNING means that temperatures everywhere are expected to be below 32 degrees. Temperatures in some areas tonight are expected to fall no lower than 35 degrees!

Since most temperatures at ground level will be sufficient for ground frost to form and the dewpoint is aoa 26 degrees Fahrenheit, a FROST advisory or warning is in order, but no freeze warning, unless temperatures everywhere are supposed to be 31 degrees or lower. Unless temperatures at Reagan fall below 32 degrees, the growing season isn't over yet.

However the likelihood of ground frost tomorrow morning should qualify the warmup Sunday and Monday for "official" Indian Summer status.

Posted by: Bombo47jea | November 6, 2009 1:14 PM
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hey joseph4: I think I had the SAME experience this morning. Fine until after sunrise. Then the windchill made it perceptibly more chilly! haha, it woke me up quickly. yeah.
Bombo47jea: I think it is some tricky "CYA" advisory action for tonight. I.e. the 2 meter above-ground temp may be in the 31-34 range inside the Beltway. But below 2m I wouldn't be surprised if a very cold layer developed and inverted even at the 2m level. It will be a night where micrometeorology reigns, if the winds go zero!

Posted by: Camden-CapitalWeatherGang | November 6, 2009 3:33 PM
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