Forecast: Suddenly Springlike and Seventy
But does winter lurk?
In the blink of an eye, warm weather has arrived. Today's high temperatures will double last Thursday's, when we were wearing scarves and shivering in the 30s. Relieve your spring fever by venturing outside for lunch or, better, taking the day off. But caution: March is fickle and the warmth won't last. A cooling trend starts Wednesday with a blast of cold air possible by the weekend.
Sensational sunshine, breezy. 66-70. We're not talking record heat (that's up near 80) and the day will start off chilly, but mild air will become more noticeable with each passing hour through late afternoon. Temperatures will climb from the 30s to near 70 degrees with a steady southerly breezy at 10-20mph. Close to the Potomac and Chesapeake Bay, the cool waters will hold high temperatures to 60-65.
Overnight, clouds will increase and temperatures will remain mild. Lows should be in the upper 40s to low 50s.
TUESDAY
Mostly cloudy, breezy, and very mild. Rain and storms late. Near 70. The long-anticipated storm will approach from the southwest. While some spotty showers are possible during the day, most of the rain will likely hold off until the early evening and overnight hours. The bulk of the daylight hours will be dry with southerly winds continuing to feed unseasonably warm air into the region.
Overnight showers and thunderstorms are likely, accompanied by heavy rain and possibly strong winds. A few severe storms may develop and we'll provide more details on that possibility tomorrow. Temperatures will drop into the mid to upper 40s by early morning.
Keep reading for the forecast for the Wednesday and the rest of the week...
Tree buds beginning to bloom in Glover Park. By Capital Weather Gang photographer Ian Livingston.
WEDNESDAY
Windy, not as warm. 54-58. Behind the storm, cooler air will follow with winds from the northwest increasing. But it will remain on the mild side as sunshine gradually emerges. Overnight, clear and cool conditions return with lows near freezing downtown and in the upper 20s in the colder suburbs.
A LOOK AHEAD
Thursday will be dry and seasonable, with temperatures in the low 50s. Temperatures will reach the 50s again Friday, when a passing cold front brings a slight chance of showers. It will turn colder Friday night into Saturday, when highs will have a tough time reaching the mid 40s. Dry and cool conditions will persist Sunday, with high temperatures holding in the 40s.
By Jason Samenow |
March 3, 2008; 5:00 AM ET
Forecasts
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Posted by: Augusta Jim | March 3, 2008 7:15 AM
Heh...the meteorologists at Sterling double as comedians apparently...
This was in their discussion this morning, I've re-typed it to eliminate abbreviations:
"...MARCH NORMALLY COMES IN LIKE A LION..BUT IT WILL BE MORE LIKE A LION CUB TODAY AS HIGH PRESSURE CONTROLS THE WEATHER..."
Posted by: weatherdudeVA (Lake Ridge) | March 3, 2008 7:21 AM
haha, I like that sense of humor. One doesn't often see it from the regional offices!
Posted by: Camden, Capital Weather Gang | March 3, 2008 7:31 AM
1) You'll see it from "WOODY" quite often, also liked this part: "SFC ANLYS SHOWED A CD FNT WHICH LOKS LK SOMETHING OUT OF A MET 101 TEXTBOOK"
Good stuff!
2)Hmm....0Z Euro was...."interesting"....
Posted by: Mike from the Blue Ridge | March 3, 2008 7:36 AM
Completely random thought here about the "in like a lion out like a lamb" thing...in 1st grade we were making lion masks at the beginning of march, and we were having a thunderstorm. My teacher said "March comes in like a lion..." and RIGHT as she said that there was a huge clap of thunder outside. Scared the living daylights out of all of us. How perfect was that? :)
That guy that did the discussion also said "The only lion-like thing today will be afternoon winds." Missed that earlier.
Haha.
Posted by: weatherdudeVA (Lake Ridge) | March 3, 2008 7:57 AM
We will need to watch possibility of a coastal storm Fri/Sat. Too early to speculate about precip type.
Posted by: Jason, Capital Weather Gang | March 3, 2008 9:17 AM
Aggreed, Mike from the Blue Ridge. There's some very "interesting" chatter over on Eastern WX blog.
Could it be? Will we actually see a good snowstorm before I'm out golfing in a few weeks?
Posted by: Jamie C in Chevy Chase | March 3, 2008 9:57 AM
st that's the way Tom
Posted by: El Bombo | March 3, 2008 10:10 AM
Around here, it always seems like March comes in like a lamb (with an early taste of spring) and goes out like a lion (with a final blast of winter).
Posted by: wives tales | March 3, 2008 10:13 AM
Love the Nice Day stamp. Gonna take off early and enjoy a nice spring day.
Posted by: Ivan | March 3, 2008 11:03 AM
I think our last chances for snow this winter will be with Friday/Saturday coastal if it pans out. I realy hope it does. After this week is over,
Bring on the Summer!
Posted by: StormChaser | March 3, 2008 11:32 AM
As a recent unemployed person enjoying his severance package - a good snowstorm would be the ultimate joy. Don't worry folks....I will be back---numerous job opportunities await. In the meantime, BRING ON THE SNOW while I enjoy cleaning my garage on this 60+ afternoon!
Posted by: Greg | March 3, 2008 1:01 PM
still windy, but very mild today in capitol hill...
Posted by: madison | March 3, 2008 1:53 PM
madison, just checked your neighborhood's temperatures there are Cap Hill... right around 65 degrees. great stuff!
Posted by: Camden, Capital Weather Gang | March 3, 2008 3:07 PM
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The NAM is beginning the typical pre 36 hr. drying of the qp potential for Tue.- Wed. The GFS is hanging tough. With the convective nature of the core, amounts will vary widely. Unfortunately, this will not be the prolonged steady soaking that we need.
Several models are converging on a solution that will present the threat of snow or a mix Fri.-Sat. If the current trends continue, forecasts will likely change later today and tomorrow.
7am: 29F, M.Clear, calm in the Valley.