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Forecast: Temps up and down with rain around
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Low digit due to high "ugh" factor...cloudy, cool, damp. Today: Cool and cloudy with rain developing. 57-60. | Tonight: More showers. 54-57. | Tomorrow: Partly cloudy, warm, and humid. 76-80. | A Look Ahead | Get Express Forecast by E-mail
FORECAST IN DETAIL
When you put on that jacket and grab your umbrella to prepare for today's nasty "wet chill" index, just remind yourself that we need this rain. The city is running almost four inches behind normal for the year-to-date. So rather than walk into the summer with a drought problem on our hands, it would be nice to catch up on rain. But you will need to persistently remind yourself of this fact as you persevere today's unpleasant conditions as well as our "bouncy" showery weather in the coming days.
Radar: Latest regional radar shows movement of precipitation over past three hours. Powered by HAMweather. Refresh page to update. Click here or on image to enlarge. Or see radar bigger on our Weather Wall.
Today (Tuesday): Expect mostly cloudy skies and cool light breezes this morning. Showers should arrive toward midday and be frequent this afternoon into evening hours. Highs should be in the upper 50s to around 60. The probability of precipitation is about 40% by midday increasing to 80% in the afternoon hours. Look for between .1" and .25", with highest totals to the north of the city. Confidence: Medium
Tonight: A warm front is forecast to lift north through the area overnight and more showers and possibly a thunderstorm could accompany it - though mainly before midnight. Rain chances are about 70% with another .1 to .2" even possible. Temperatures will hold steady in the 50s, but we could see warming into the low 60s before dawn. Confidence: Medium
Keep reading for the forecast through the weekend...
A bee pollinating a rhododendron blossom in Oakton, VA. this weekend. By CWG photographer Kevin Ambrose.
Tomorrow (Wednesday): Wednesday is the "up" day on temperatures with the warm front to our north and warmer, muggier conditions around the area. Highs should be mostly in the upper 70s to around 80 with light winds from the south and west. Sky conditions should be mostly cloudy, but do not be surprised to see the sun to break out at times. There is a risk for a late day shower or storm (40%). Confidence: Medium
Tomorrow Night: For Wednesday evening, the front that went to our north begins to come back south again. This offers another chance (30%) of showers and storms, and changes us back to a cooler wind direction (from the north). Lows should drop back toward the low-to-mid 50s. Confidence: Medium-High
Thursday will be the "down" day on temperatures with cool winds from the north and northeast keeping highs down in the 60s. Those clouds should be variable and we can't ignore a 20% chance of a few scattered light showers. Thursday night finds that pesky front coming back north again with more shower chances (30%) and warmer lows around the mid-to-upper 50s. Confidence: Low-Medium
Friday is warmer again (getting dizzy yet?) with higher humidity. We'll have our best chance of the week to get highs into the 80s with mixed sun and clouds. A cold front approaching from the west means a 40% chance of late-day showers and thunderstorms. Some showers could linger Friday night as the front passes through with lows in the upper 50s to low 60s. Confidence: Low-Medium
Saturday puts us back on the cooler side again, but it might actually be pleasant. Variable clouds (which could mean sunny skies at times) and highs in the 70s are expected. Confidence: Low
Sunday was looking like a nice repeat of Saturday, but the latest model trends suggest that the annoying front that pushes to our south on Friday night could return northward to once again deliver clouds, showers and cooler temperatures. Highs could be in the upper 60s to 70s with what looks as of now to be a 30% chance of showers. Confidence: Low
By
Matt Rogers
| May 11, 2010; 11:00 AM ET
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Posted by: dcawx | May 11, 2010 6:07 AM | Report abuse
Wow, that is amazing. Doesn't get much bigger than baseball/grapefruit size!
Posted by: Camden-CapitalWeatherGang | May 11, 2010 8:38 AM | Report abuse
That is some scary weather yesterday in OK.
Hoping here for more than a tenth or two of rain today. The ground is DRY.
If it's going to be overcast & chilly then at least we deserve to get some decent rainfall amounts.
Posted by: FIREDRAGON47 | May 11, 2010 9:15 AM | Report abuse
Ugh. Not a big fan of the daily up-down temperature change. Easy way to get sick.
Posted by: ThinkSpring | May 11, 2010 10:51 AM | Report abuse
Noticed that rain chances went up to 50% in the "at a glance".
Posted by: jojo2008 | May 11, 2010 12:01 PM | Report abuse
...did I just hear that it's time for some MUCH-NEEDED RAIN?
Posted by: stuckman | May 11, 2010 1:11 PM | Report abuse
The Washington region does have the need for some moisture. Glad to have some today, and see it overspreading the region.
Posted by: Camden-CapitalWeatherGang | May 11, 2010 1:49 PM | Report abuse
Another Clarendon Ballroom dance night...the weather gets raw!!!
Frankly I'm getting disgusted with all this unseasonal windiness--that's why I can't get out the short sleeves even when it's warm...plus I keep having to wear a wintertime stocking cap--the wind tries to blow off my baseball cap! When will "summer weather" get here???
Posted by: Bombo47jea | May 11, 2010 2:30 PM | Report abuse
Just saw that it is SNOWING in State College, PA!
Posted by: stinkerflat1 | May 11, 2010 2:49 PM | Report abuse
Wouldn't be surprised by snow at State College...it's cool and they are at some elevation...maybe 1,700 ft. or so.
Posted by: Bombo47jea | May 11, 2010 2:57 PM | Report abuse
Yes, we do need some rain; the slow, soaking variety would be nice for both the ground and washing away some of the pollen.
Although the winter snows gave us some badly needed moisture, that was three months ago, and the accumulation from February only was the equivalent of roughly three inches of rain.
Posted by: jcbcmb68 | May 11, 2010 4:07 PM | Report abuse
We need significant rain! National Airport is now almost 4 inches below normal for the year. I would submit that is more than "some moisture", Camden!
Today's .11 of an inch at National and only .08" at IAD is a mere pittance. Has anyone else noticed that grass in locations exposed to full sun is ALREADY turning brown?!
Accuweather.com keeps upping their precipitation amounts for National; let's hope that's the case, as their inevitable hype fuels my own hope!
Posted by: TominMichiganParkDC | May 11, 2010 5:54 PM | Report abuse
@TominMIParkDC
Actually, no, I haven't noticed any grass turning brown. In fact, grass in my yard continues to grow at a very fast pace. I have to mow every 5 days.
Let's not start overhyping the rain deficit already. The ground water table is in fantastic shape.
Posted by: ThinkSpring | May 12, 2010 7:28 AM | Report abuse
The comments to this entry are closed.
Check out this video of baseball sized hail. It was shot yesterday afternoon in Moore, OK, a suburb of Oklahoma City.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5uBXfYpuVA