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The return of winter

Jason Samenow @ 1:51 AM

Flash flood warning and flood warnings in effect this morning

Very heavy rain is affecting the entire area, with amounts of two inches or more common in a short period of time.
Flash flood warnings are in effect for:
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
ARLINGTON COUNTY IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA
CITY OF ALEXANDRIA IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA
CITY OF FAIRFAX IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA
CITY OF FALLS CHURCH IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA
FAIRFAX COUNTY IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA
Flood warnings are in effect for
LOUDON COUNTY
MONTGOMERY COUNTY
FREDERICK COUNTY
CITY OF MANASSAS
CITY OF MANASSAS PARK
PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY
A flood watch is also in effect for the entire area.

Allow extra time for your morning commute and do not attempt to cross bridges, dips, or other low spots if water covers the roadway. The rain should end between 10am and noon. The warnings expire at 11am. For more, see this Washington Post article: Heavy Rains Creating Problems for Commuters

The 70 degree temperatures of yesterday are gone, long gone. The wind and the cold have arrived just in time for the holiday weekend. And ski areas breathe a sigh of relief.

Graphic courtesy AccuWeather


It did, in fact, reach 71 degrees at Reagan National yesterday and 69 and 70 at Dulles and BWI. Today, temperatures will slowly fall from the 50s through the 40s. It may not feel bad early in the morning but by the time you leave work, you'll want the heavy coat and gloves. Winds will be gusty as well (isolated gusts 30mph+), making it feel even brisker.

The holiday weekend, include Martin Luther King, Jr. day will bring partly cloudy skies and cold temperatures with day time highs in the 30s and overnight lows 20-25. If the graphical forecast shows snow for Monday, disregard it.

Skier's Forecast: Let me put it this way-- none of the local resorts are fairing well especially in light of the fact it's climatologically the coldest time of the year. Bases should be deep, and most if not all terrain should be open. But not this year.

Wintergreen has all of 1 of its 23 slopes open today. Remarkably though, Whitetail reports it has 13 of 22 runs open -- although I bet conditions are sketchy. Both of these resorts have great snowmaking and should be able to blast the slopes with fresh machine made snow beginning tonight, meaning ski conditions will gradually improve. More terrain will likely be opened each day over the weekend. The later you put off your ski trip, the better off you'll be. Watch out for lift lines on Monday -- a big holiday for skiers.

Image courtesy AccuWeather.

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