TODAY’S DAILY DIGIT
A somewhat subjective rating of the day’s weather, on a scale of 0 to 10.
6/10: Being the final day of heat makes this a “passable” Friday. Any showers or thundershowers should hold off until afternoon or evening at the earliest.
EXPRESS FORECAST
Today: Clouds slowly increase. Late shower or thundershower? Highs: Upper 80s to low 90s.
Tonight: Shower/storm chances decrease after midnight. Lows: Low-to-mid 60s.
Saturday: Showers/rain/storm chances increase quickly with time. Highs: Around 70 to mid-70s.
Sunday: Rain/showers/storminess still possible, especially morning. Highs: Near 70 to low 70s.
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FORECAST IN DETAIL
One last day of heat, and then we get a reprieve with a cooler, cloudier and more unsettled weekend. Yes this means rain, and gardeners may love the sound of that! Weekend outdoor activities, though, are a bit challenged but perhaps can be squeezed in Saturday morning or Sunday afternoon. Or just play early-week hooky as sunshine and comfortable conditions return!
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Today (Friday): Heat. With that slight mugginess. High temperatures should make it into the upper 80s to low 90s. The 93-degree record at DCA *should* stay (barely) unchallenged. The day is bright enough, but clouds increase as it wears on, well ahead of an approaching cold front. Gusty southwest breezes could pop to around 20 mph by mid- or late afternoon. A slight shower or thundershower chance is worth mentioning by mid- to late afternoon, especially west and northwest of town. Medium
Tonight: It’s mostly cloudy, with evening shower/storm chances increasing after sunset but waning by around midnight before shower chances increase again before dawn. Nothing too long in duration or too heavy likely, but a brief downpour is possible. Mostly cloudy otherwise. Behind this cold front, we should see dew points and temperatures decrease. Still, even with drier air, mid-60s may be as cool as downtown gets by sunrise, with a few low 60s possible outside the Beltway. Southwesterly breezes around 10 mph turn toward a northwesterly direction and potentially gust near 20 mph in the early morning. Medium
Follow us on , and for the latest updates. For related traffic news, check out Dr. Gridlock. Keep reading for the forecast through the weekend.
Tomorrow (Saturday): Any last peeks of sunshine disappear early, as overcast skies set in. Showers and periods of rain may move in as early as mid-morning and last through the afternoon. Put another way, rain chances increase as the day progresses. A front may stall over us and re-energize thanks to an upper level disturbance slowly approaching from the west. Early morning is best for outdoor activities that need to stay dry. Briefly attaining high temperatures in the mid-afternoon hours, we should hit 70 in most locations. Perhaps a few mid-70s south of town. Medium
Tomorrow night: An evening wave and a predawn wave of showers and storms could move through. Overall, just wear the rain gear if out, to play it safe. It looks like it will be generally damp if not constantly moderate or heavy rainfall. Clouds hang tough, so don’t count on any stars or moon. Low temperatures slowly make their way down, toward sunrise, into the mid-50s to near 60. Low-Medium
A LOOK AHEAD
Sunday: Cloudy, rainy conditions may persist, at least through the morning. Lower intensity showers/storms should move out by midday and, as we eye the afternoon, we may see a slight break. Even so, there could be more to come after. Watch radar with us on Twitter @capitalweather for the latest. With light northerly breezes possible, we may stay cooler with high temperatures maxing out near 70 to perhaps low 70s. Please stay tuned for some tweaks possible to this forecast. Low-Medium
Sunday night: After a few evening showers, we should see skies clear and conditions dry out finally. Dry air should move in, on light northwesterly breezes, behind this final cold front. Even with clearing skies and lighter breezes, temperatures don’t get too chilly — perhaps low-to-mid 50s before sunrise. Medium
Our cold front finally clears out for Monday and Tuesday, with drier air plus more sunshine than clouds. High temperatures should easily make it into the low to mid-70s. As we get closer, we’ll see whether the data support nudging these temperature projections closer to 80 degrees. It’s possible! Other than a slight chance of a Monday sprinkle, we should have decent sailing! Just use that sunscreen — especially between 10 a.m.-4 p.m. — because we have an early-August sun angle. Medium