Forecast: Windy Transition to March
Windy conditions will make today and tomorrow -- the first day of March -- feel pretty chilly. But the weekend should end on a calmer, milder note. Aside from a little light rain tonight, we can expect dry conditions until next Tuesday when a pretty intense storm may impact the region.
Breezy, p.m. rain. Low to mid 40s. Starting off mostly cloudy, and chilly, temperatures will warm into the low to mid 40s. Late in the afternoon, skies will cloud over and the winds will pick up. Some light rain could affect the western suburbs by the evening rush.
A passing cold front will give us some spotty light rain overnight, possibly mixing with a bit of snow in the outlying north and west suburbs (towards Leesburg and Frederick). Before the front passes, winds will be out of the southwest upwards of 15-25mph, shifting to out of the northwest by morning . Temperatures will cool into the mid 30s. While overnight rain chances are pretty high, amounts will probably be modest -- at around 0.10".
TOMORROW
Clearing but windy. Middle 40s. Skies will clear as the sun rises on Saturday morning. Bundle up, though! The wind will be whipping out of the west northwest around 20mph throughout the day. High temperatures will climb well into the 40s, but a harsh wind chill will make it feel like the 30s.
Overnight, temperatures cool to the upper 20s to near freezing. Moderate winds will persist, so it will be on the blustery side.
Keep reading for the forecast through Sunday and beyond. How warm will it get next week?
SUNDAY
Sunny, lower 50s. Temperatures will attempt an upswing on Sunday, up and over 50 degrees. It may not feel balmy, but the diminishing winds will likely tickle your fancy. Skies will be generally clear. All in all a very good day to get in a little "Spring Training" before your sports league starts playing again. It is March, now, after all!
A LOOK AHEAD
Mostly sunny and quite mild conditions are expected Monday. Southwest winds could bump our temperature up to near 60!
Tuesday rain is likely as a potent storm approaches from the southwest. Temperatures will probably hover in the middle 50s. This energetic storm could trigger a crack of thunder along with gustier winds. Colder air arrives Tuesday night, with rain continuing, that may mix with or briefly change to snow before ending, especially the closer you get to the mountains.
By Camden Walker |
February 29, 2008; 5:00 AM ET
Forecasts
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Posted by: weatherdudeVA (Lake Ridge) | February 29, 2008 7:36 AM
Are the first few weeks of March still supposed to be colder-than-average, and if so, when will the spring warm-up begin?
Posted by: steve takoma park md | February 29, 2008 8:44 AM
The early morning shift at LWX seems to be a little more on the ball than the afternoon shift was yesterday. Now, both their forecast and afd are in line with the latest models available at "press" time.
Their forecast temps. for my area have warmed 10 degrees on Tue., and they dropped the word snow for Monday night and Tuesday with the early morning package.
As usual, Camden is much more specific than LWX, for the lee side, moisture starved system to affect us later today and tonight. Terms like "a little light rain", "spotty light rain". describe the potential much better than LWX saying "rain Likely". I can certainly understand some D.C. area folks using this site exclusively for their short to medium term weather forecasts.
Rainfall potential for Monday night to Wed. morning, ranges from .50" with the JMA to almost 2.00" with the GFS. The GFS has put the usually reliable ECMWF to shame with this storm, by nailing the now agreed to track 24 hrs. earlier.
Yes, for all the snowlovers, late next week looks interesting.
Posted by: Augusta Jim | February 29, 2008 8:47 AM
Thanks, AJim. Still patiently waiting, waiting for flakes.
Posted by: missy | February 29, 2008 9:18 AM
Steve, March will be a month full of oscillations. We typically see temperatures tease us with weather from snow to potential records pushing the 80 degree mark near the end of the month. The spring warm-up won't start in earnest until mid-April. That's when at least I put my winter coat away :)
Posted by: Camden, Capital Weather Gang | February 29, 2008 9:41 AM
Henry M. on accuweather saying potential "big daddy" on March 8th with possible blizzard conditions... We will probably just got some drizzle, but one can hope....
Posted by: Ice cubes down the toilet! | February 29, 2008 9:43 AM
LWX discussion for late next week also says, "CONFIDENCE IS LOW THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY.....ECMWF DOESNT WITH A WEAK NORTHERN WAVE SLIDING THROUGH
FOR MOSTLY UPSLOPE SNOW SHOWERS."
Posted by: Ivan | February 29, 2008 11:00 AM
Come on folks, I'm sick and tired of getting that rain crap every time there's a Tueday night dance!!!
Posted by: El Bombo | February 29, 2008 11:18 AM
Everyone - give up on Winter. If we get a snowstorm (over six inches)before April 2008, I promise to never make wise cracks regarding "RAIN" ever again.
Posted by: Greg | February 29, 2008 11:37 AM
First storm for next week has trended East on the lastest GFS run. So who knows, there may still be some glimmer of hope...
Posted by: HEELS | February 29, 2008 12:02 PM
sure, Greg.
Posted by: missy | February 29, 2008 12:08 PM
Missy -
:)!
Have a great day ---you know me too well.
Let it snow!
Posted by: Greg | February 29, 2008 1:22 PM
El Bombo, your dance nights may be the only thing keeping us out of a severe drought, since the rain seems so attracted to them!
Posted by: ~sg | February 29, 2008 1:55 PM
~sg - Agreed. If they could just move the "El Bombo" dance nights down south a few hundred miles.
Posted by: Kalorama Park | February 29, 2008 2:07 PM
Can one of the CWG pass this along to Andrew. I would love to hear his thoughts on this blog about Global Warming -
Last year's reality: global cooling
Posted by: Jenn in Reston | February 29, 2008 2:09 PM
Reality check:
- National Post (source of "cooling" story) is Canada's Washington Times
- It's called "Global" warming because it refers to the average of the whole earth, not a few selected spots
- Climate is a long-term trend, not a comparison of a particular month to an average.
Posted by: Steve, Capital Weather Gang | February 29, 2008 4:20 PM
The comments to this entry are closed.
Good with the rain tonight! We need SOME moisture in here, whether it be rain snow sleet or ice. I went to Georgia over President's Day Weekend and we drove over Lake Lanier and it is SICKLY looking, I couldn't believe it. In some places there was GRASS growing on the BOTTOM OF THE LAKE. That's how low the water is.
Oh, and:
Dreamcasters of the world, unite! This is in the LWX discussion pertaining to Thursday Night/Friday of next week:
GFS SHOWS POTENTIAL FOR SOME WINTRY
PRECIPITATION AS SOUTHERN STREAM MOISTURE MOVES INTO THE MID
ATLANTIC.
I love that term, "dreamcasting." It gives hope this winter to all of us snowstarved weather geeks.