WASHINGTON – At least we aren’t talking about snow, but yes, we are talking about some rain around for your weekend. At this point, I’ll take it!
While we warm up on Friday to near 60 degrees (thanks to some breezy southerly winds), some rain showers will hang around through the daytime hours as a cold front approaches the area. We may get a break from the shower activity in the evening hours as the front weakens. But don’t put that umbrella away quite yet, you’ll need it for the weekend.
As the front pushes through the area Friday, it will stall just to the south of the region during the overnight hours leading into Saturday. An area of low pressure will develop along the frontal system in the Lower Mississippi Valley and gain strength as it travels along the stalled front, traveling northeast right into the Mid-Atlantic through Saturday night.
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The 8 a.m. Saturday surface forecast shows a stalled front through Virginia with rain showers through the region. An area of low pressure on the Tennessee/Kentucky border will continue to travel northeastward through the day.
Rain will begin in the morning hours on Saturday and continue through the day. Watch for areas of fog as well if you are out and about in the morning hours. Continuing through your Saturday, there could be some times of heavy rain with locally heavy downpours and even some isolated thunderstorms, mainly in the afternoon and evening hours. Temperatures will be held in the lower- to mid-50s all weekend. We will have to monitor the potential flooding risk as we could receive a good amount of rain.
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Upper left graphic shows the Quantitative Precipitation Forecast that predicts the total rainfall from Friday to Sunday will be anywhere from 1.5 inches to more than 2 inches. Bottom left outlines our area for potential flooding risk on Saturday.
If you are headed to the last Nationals preseason game against the Detroit Tigers – first pitch at 2:05 p.m. Saturday – you may want to pack that rain gear. Rain showers will linger into the first part of Sunday. But we will have to watch to see if the rain will last slightly longer (if the area of low pressure doesn’t exit off the coast quick enough). Some clearing will take place by Sunday afternoon but winds will be yet another factor through the day on Sunday. Very breezy northerly winds will come through the day on Sunday. But with our temperature in the lower 50s, it won’t quite be the biting wind that we experienced earlier this week.
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Once we make it past the weekend, things will warm up nicely. By Monday, high pressure returns as well as some sunshine! Temperatures will shoot into the lower- to mid-60s with temperatures nearing 70 on Tuesday and Wednesday! Spring may finally be here to stay.
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