Monday, May 01, 2006
The week ahead -- Great start, poor finish?
Jason Samenow @ 6:30 AM
Most of the week should bring a continuation of delightful spring weather, but conditions may go downhill by the weekend. Week ahead details follow.
Beautiful. The same area of high pressure parked to our north over the weekend will continue to block any bad weather. The high temperature should be around 70 with mainly sunny skies. Clear skies overnight should allow temperatures to drop near 45 downtown (40 in the suburbs).
Pictured: Actor George Clooney (left) speaks at the Darfur rally on the Mall yesterday under clear skies (shown on the right). By CapitalWeather.com photographer Ian Livingston.
Lookin' Good. While our friendly high to the north moves out, weak high pressure builds to the south. Winds should become westerly allowing temperatures to rise into the mid 70s, under partly sunny skies. Overnight, a brief shower is possible due to a weak area of low pressure passing to our north. Low temperatures should be around 50.
Pleasant. Weak high pressure to the south coupled with departing low pressure to the northeast will likely support dry westerly flow. These conditions should be conducive for another enjoyable day with high temperatures that should reach the mid 70s. Overnight, look for generally clear skies and lows from 50-55.
Very nice. Conditions very similar to Wednesday should prevail as weak high pressure holds its ground. I expect partly to mostly sunny skies with highs in the mid to upper 70s coupled with a pleasant westerly breeze. Overnight, generally mild conditions will persist with lows in the mid 50s.
Becoming quite warm. Southerly flow ahead of an approaching front should allow temperatures to approach or surpass 80 under partly sunny skies. During the evening, clouds may increase and a shower or thunderstorm is possible. It's possible Friday could meet "nice day stamp" criteria (highs of 65-85 with less than 20% chance of rain and low humidity), but confidence in the timing of the front and any rain is not high enough to stamp it. Overnight, showers and thunderstorms remain a possibility due to the frontal passage. Low temperatures should be in the upper 50s.
Tough call -- uncertain. After the front passes through Friday night, what will happen to it? Will it stall over the southeast allowing a wave to form along it which could move north and bring rain to us? Or will it push far enough offshore allowing high pressure to build in from the northwest which would produce a cool, but pleasant weekend? I'm actually thinking the latter is more likely but we'll have to wait and see. Sunday right now stands the better chance of being dry -- but there is hope for both days. High temperatures should be in the 60s with lows in the 40s.
The average high this week is in the low 70s and the average low is in the low 50s downtown and upper 40s in the suburbs.
Meteorologist Kim Martucci of WUSA is CapitalWeather.com visitors' favorite morning weathercaster. Nearly 150 votes came in and Kim earned 42% of them. Brian Van de Graaff of WJLA came in second with 30%. Veteran Tom Kierein of WRC received 20% of the votes while Tony Perkins of FOX5 earned a surprisingly low 8%. The new poll surveys opinions on the weekend weathercasters. Cast your vote. The poll will be up for several weeks.
Today
Beautiful. The same area of high pressure parked to our north over the weekend will continue to block any bad weather. The high temperature should be around 70 with mainly sunny skies. Clear skies overnight should allow temperatures to drop near 45 downtown (40 in the suburbs).Pictured: Actor George Clooney (left) speaks at the Darfur rally on the Mall yesterday under clear skies (shown on the right). By CapitalWeather.com photographer Ian Livingston.
Tomorrow
Lookin' Good. While our friendly high to the north moves out, weak high pressure builds to the south. Winds should become westerly allowing temperatures to rise into the mid 70s, under partly sunny skies. Overnight, a brief shower is possible due to a weak area of low pressure passing to our north. Low temperatures should be around 50.Wednesday
Pleasant. Weak high pressure to the south coupled with departing low pressure to the northeast will likely support dry westerly flow. These conditions should be conducive for another enjoyable day with high temperatures that should reach the mid 70s. Overnight, look for generally clear skies and lows from 50-55.Thursday
Very nice. Conditions very similar to Wednesday should prevail as weak high pressure holds its ground. I expect partly to mostly sunny skies with highs in the mid to upper 70s coupled with a pleasant westerly breeze. Overnight, generally mild conditions will persist with lows in the mid 50s.Friday
Becoming quite warm. Southerly flow ahead of an approaching front should allow temperatures to approach or surpass 80 under partly sunny skies. During the evening, clouds may increase and a shower or thunderstorm is possible. It's possible Friday could meet "nice day stamp" criteria (highs of 65-85 with less than 20% chance of rain and low humidity), but confidence in the timing of the front and any rain is not high enough to stamp it. Overnight, showers and thunderstorms remain a possibility due to the frontal passage. Low temperatures should be in the upper 50s.The Weekend
Tough call -- uncertain. After the front passes through Friday night, what will happen to it? Will it stall over the southeast allowing a wave to form along it which could move north and bring rain to us? Or will it push far enough offshore allowing high pressure to build in from the northwest which would produce a cool, but pleasant weekend? I'm actually thinking the latter is more likely but we'll have to wait and see. Sunday right now stands the better chance of being dry -- but there is hope for both days. High temperatures should be in the 60s with lows in the 40s.Climatology
The average high this week is in the low 70s and the average low is in the low 50s downtown and upper 40s in the suburbs.
Poll Results
Meteorologist Kim Martucci of WUSA is CapitalWeather.com visitors' favorite morning weathercaster. Nearly 150 votes came in and Kim earned 42% of them. Brian Van de Graaff of WJLA came in second with 30%. Veteran Tom Kierein of WRC received 20% of the votes while Tony Perkins of FOX5 earned a surprisingly low 8%. The new poll surveys opinions on the weekend weathercasters. Cast your vote. The poll will be up for several weeks.
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