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Now I, I Wish It Would Rain Down...

Jason Samenow @ 12:13 AM

The major weather story around here is the lack of rain. We've now gone 19 days without more than a trace of rain. Yesterday, the rain missed us to the south and to the west. Today, the rain may miss us to the east and northeast.

Can you name the songwriter quoted in this post's title?


Forecast details

A sluggish front is going to move through the area today, triggering about a 1 in 4 chance of showers and thunderstorms. Best chance of any rain will be in the afternoon, with slow clearing in the evening. It will be warm and muggy, but unlike three of the past four days, should not reach 90. Expect a high in the mid 80s, that will feel like the upper 80s given moderate humidity levels (dewpoints in the high 60s). If you're headed out to the Arts on Foot Festival downtown, bring an umbrella, but don't be surprised if you don't end up needing it. (Someone recently reminded me of the rule: don't forecast rain during a drought.)

Sunday should be splendid with reduced humidity, plenty of sunshine and highs in the low 80s. Great weather for the Anne Arundel County fair, Celebrate Gaithersburg Festival and the Fiesta Musical at the National Zoo.

Pictured: Clouds and sun looking towards the Lincoln Memorial from the Washington Monument yesterday evening. By CapitalWeather.com photographer Kevin Ambrose.

Tropics Heating Up: Philippe and Rita on the way?

Just as Ophelia begins to wind down (after delivering a quick blow to extreme eastern New England), we have two disturbances on the cusp of spinning up, possibly becoming significant tropical cyclones in time (i.e. hurricanes). System one, now several hundred miles east of the Windward Islands, will likely become a depression today.

Disturbance number two, north of Puerto Rico, also stands a good chance of developing into a depression in the next day or two. This disturbance will have to be monitored very closely as the overall steering currents could direct it towards south Florida and then into the Gulf of Mexico.

And there may be more disturbances in the pipeline that we need to watch. For the past several weeks, disturbances off the African coast have been getting sheared apart due to a trough in the eastern Atlantic (causing hostile westerly winds). This has been replaced by a ridge which will be much more favorable for the formation of Cape Verde hurricanes -- named after storms that originate off the west African coast.

Weather Gamecast: College Football

West Virginia at Maryland, at 12pm in Byrd Stadium (College Park)

Warm and humid with a slight chance of a shower. Gametime temps in the low to mid 80s. Score prediction: Maryland 21, West Virginia 7

Ohio University at Virginia Tech, at 3:30pm in Lane Stadium (Blacksburg, VA)

Partly cloudy and pleasant. Temperatures should be in the upper 70s. Score prediction: Virginia Tech 38, Ohio University 7.

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