Capital Weather Gang

Forecast: Some Saturday sun and sixty

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:00:00 -0500

Clouds slowly settle in Sunday * Sea & sky over the Atlantic | Under Pressure by Air Pressure? * EXPRESS FORECAST Today: Partly to mostly sunny. 59-63. | Tonight: Mostly clear. 38-45. | Tomorrow: Increasing clouds. 53-57. | A Look Ahead | Get Express Forecast by E-mail FORECAST IN DETAIL We're looking at a pretty nice late fall weekend. Sunshine will radiate through the skies today, and though clouds increase tomorrow, odds are increasing it will remain dry. The ugly, damp weather may wait to arrive until Sunday night and Monday. Temperatures: Current area temperatures. Powered by Weather Bonk. Map by Google. Hover over and click icons for more info. Click and hold on map to pan. Refresh page to update. See map bigger on our Weather Wall. Today (Saturday): No doubt the day will start off chilly, with 30s in many suburbs. But sunshine, filtered at times by clouds,

PM Update: Weekend starts sunny; Rainy finish?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:15:34 -0500

Work week ends calm with near-average temperatures * Sea & sky over the Atlantic | Under Pressure by Air Pressure? * * Outside now? Clouds, temps, radar & more: Weather Wall | Traffic * Other than a sometimes gusty wind from the northwest, today has been quite pleasant, especially following the storminess of last night. Mostly sunny skies throughout the day have helped temperatures rise a bit above normal for late November, as highs neared 60 most spots. This evening promises worry free weather. Just bring a jacket along, as we'll cool off nicely once the sun sets. Temperatures: Current area temperatures. Powered by Weather Bonk. Map by Google. Hover over and click icons for more info. Click and hold on map to pan. Refresh page to update. See map bigger on our Weather Wall. Through Tonight: Evening temperatures quickly fall through 50s and into the 40s while winds of

Sea & sky while cruising the Atlantic

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:45:00 -0500

* Sunny days return: Full Forecast | Under pressure by air pressure? * Looking out at a shower over the open Atlantic. By Steve Tracton. I recently returned from a 16-day cruise which included seven days at sea crossing the Atlantic from Lisbon, Portugal to Fort Lauderdale, Fl. Two of the highlights of my first ocean cruise were experiencing the vastness of the Atlantic Ocean and how otherwise dull weather for a weather geek like me can be quite noteworthy. To cruise across the Atlantic is a totally different and indescribably exhilarating experience. Beyond the physical confines and many amenities (another story) of ship-board life there is nothing but sea, wind, waves, and dolphin sightings day after day. Nowhere else have I been able to see the true horizon, the merging of sky and sea (assuming clear skies) in every direction with no visual obstructions from trees, buildings, hills, etc.

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Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:45:00 -0500

Forecast: Sunny through Saturday. Then rain?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:15:30 -0500

Weekend gets off to fine start, could finish wet * Under pressure by air pressure? | Next week: Photo contest winners * * Outside now? Clouds, temps, radar & more: Weather Wall * EXPRESS FORECAST Today: Becoming mostly sunny. Near 60. | Tonight: Mostly clear. Upper 30s to low 40s. | Tomorrow: Partly to mostly sunny. Upper 50s to near 60. | Sunday: Partly to mostly cloudy. Chance of p.m. rain. Mid-50s. | A Look Ahead | Get Express Forecast by E-mail FORECAST IN DETAIL Yesterday's showers and thundershowers are history. Now we have a couple of nice days ahead of us, with sunshine both today and Saturday. Our next storm system approaches on Sunday but may not bring rain chances until the afternoon or Sunday night, probably lasting into Monday. High temperatures, all the while, will stay in a pretty narrow range -- in the mid-50s to low 60s.

PM Update: Shower threat through evening

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:15:34 -0500

Sunshine returns on Friday, lasts through Saturday * Under pressure by air pressure? | Records reveal shifting climate * * Outside now? Radar, temps & more: Weather Wall | Traffic * Showers -- with some rumbles of thunder and brief heavy rain -- are affecting the area this afternoon. Northern and eastern sections are now in on the action after precipitation mainly hit the western suburbs through early afternoon. Additional activity along a cold front, still approaching from the west, will threaten through evening. Highs topped out in the upper 50s and low 60s -- some locations have cooled back a bit with the rain. Radar: Latest D.C. area radar loop shows movement of precipitation over past two hours. Powered by HAMweather. Refresh page to update. Click here or on image to enlarge. Or see radar bigger on our Weather Wall. Through Tonight: We stick with a risk of showers

Feeling under pressure by air pressure?

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:00:00 -0500

Wx in the City * Rain at times today: Full Forecast * There is no doubt that weather affects our health and well-being -- think hypothermia, sunburn and that good old "nice day" feeling from a clear, warm spring day. There is an entire field called biometeorology that is dedicated to studying the interactions between the atmosphere and living things. But, do minor changes in air pressure, which we experience on a weekly basis in the form of high and low pressure systems, affect our health? It's plausible. Keep reading for more on the effects of air pressure on how you feel. But first, take this poll... poll by twiigs.com

Forecast: Some showers today, much nicer Friday

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:50:00 -0500

Sunny, dry Friday & Saturday; rain to return Sunday? * Record temps reveal shifting climate | Ida difficult to forecast * EXPRESS FORECAST Today: Cloudy with occasional showers. Near 60. | Tonight: Showers taper around midnight. 48-52. | Tomorrow: Some a.m. clouds. Sunny by afternoon. Near 60. | A Look Ahead | Get Express Forecast by E-mail FORECAST IN DETAIL We're back-and-forth between weather systems over the coming days: clouds and some showers are with us today as a cold front approaches from the west; however, we're quickly back to sunny and dry weather by midday (or perhaps earlier) tomorrow as high pressure builds in. Plenty of sun and dry conditions remain with us on what's sure to be a very nice Saturday. Alas, an area of low pressure getting organized to our south is likely to pump clouds and (potentially) moisture back our way by the second half of

PM Update: Showers possible Thursday

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:30:54 -0500

Clouds thicken ahead of cold front * Record temps reveal shifting climate | Ida difficult to forecast * * Outside now? Radar, temps & more: Weather Wall | Traffic * As Dan Stillman alluded to this morning, cloud cover was largely dependent on location during much of the day -- sunnier north and east and cloudier south and west. Temperatures topped out mainly in the mid-and-upper 50s, and the whole area is now trending cloudy as a storm system to the west approaches the area. Most spots should stay dry through midnight before a slight risk of showers approaches after. Webcam: Latest view of D.C. from the Netherlands Carillon at Arlington National Cemetery. Courtesy National Park Service. Refresh page to update. See this image bigger on our Weather Wall. Through Tonight: We'll be cloudy overnight with an increasing risk of showers after midnight headed toward sunrise. Someone in the western

Record highs vs. lows reveal shifting climate

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:45:30 -0500

* Trending cloudy; showers? Full Forecast | Autumn photos in D.C. * Each bar shows the proportion of record highs (red) to record lows (blue) by decade, as observed at about 1,800 weather stations in the continental United States from January 1950 through September 2009. In the last 30 years, record highs have become much more common than record lows. Graphic by Mike Shibao, UCAR. Climate change has long suffered from a perception problem. Studies show that people tend to view it as a long-term phenomenon divorced from their more immediate and pressing concerns, rather than something that is already reshaping the planet in many ways. Part of the explanation for this may have to do with the statistics typically cited when scientists discuss climate change, such as the nearly one degree Fahrenheit increase in globally averaged surface temperature during the past century. This statistic, while profoundly alarming to many

Forecast: Trending cloudy but not too cool

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:00:30 -0500

Best chance of rain is Thursday p.m. * Ida's remnants challenge forecasters | Sesame Street weather * * Outside Now? Clouds, temps, webcam & more: Weather Wall * EXPRESS FORECAST Today: Variably cloudy. Mid-50s to near 60. | Tonight: Mostly cloudy. Chance of a few showers. Mid-40s to near 50. | Tomorrow: Cloudy. Increasing chance of showers. Mid-50s to near 60. | A Look Ahead FORECAST IN DETAIL While the weather has slowly gone downhill since Sunday's sunshine and highs in the 70s, it's still been pretty nice, and not too cold for November. The downhill trend continues with increasing clouds today and shower chances tonight through Thursday night or early Friday. But temperatures will hold at typical levels for this time of year, and Saturday should make for a great start to the weekend. How about Sunday?... Temperatures: Current area temperatures. Powered by Weather Bonk. Map by Google. Hover

PM Update: Cooler than yesterday but still pleasant

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:15:34 -0500

Clouds arrive tomorrow for another multi-day stay * Ida remnants lead to difficult forecast | Foliage photos in D.C. * * Outside now? Radar, temps & more: Weather Wall | Traffic * Though we lost about 10 degrees from yesterday this afternoon and saw a few clouds from time to time, today has ended up another pleasant one for this time of year. High temperatures have risen to levels quite close to average, mainly in the upper 50s to near 60. Unfortunately for nice weather fans, clear skies will be waning as clouds return for the next several days. Webcam: Latest view of D.C. from the Netherlands Carillon at Arlington National Cemetery. Courtesy National Park Service. Refresh page to update. See this image bigger on our Weather Wall. Through Tonight: A continued flow off the ocean and clouds arriving from the west will lead to partly cloudy skies early and

Ida's remnants play havoc with last week's forecast

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:00:30 -0500

Weather Checker * Our Full Forecast | Fall photos in D.C. | Sesame Street weather * Brittany Thompson wades across Worcester Street in Ocean City, Md. (Laura Emmons/Associated Press) Weather Checker is an outsider's analysis of CWG's forecast accuracy. See previous Weather Checker posts. By Jamie Yesnowitz It's rarely easy to predict the path and timing of a tropical system once it makes landfall. This was especially true with the remnants of what was once Hurricane Ida. Conflicting model predictions -- some taking Ida's remains almost due east after coming ashore along the Gulf Coast, others suggesting a more northerly track with impacts further up the East Coast -- challenged CWG and other forecast outlets early last week. The end result for the D.C. area was almost 48 hours of uninterrupted rain and some gusty winds on Wednesday and Thursday of last week -- though it was nothing like the

Forecast: Return to seasonal weather

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:00:19 -0500

Weekend forecast turns cloudier * Photos: Reflections of autumn in D.C. | Sesame Street's weather * EXPRESS FORECAST Today: Partly sunny and cooler. 55-60. | Tonight: Variable cloud cover and cool. 38-44. | Wednesday: Partly cloudy. 54-59. | A Look Ahead | Get Express Forecast by E-mail FORECAST IN DETAIL Yesterday may have qualified as the nicest day of this week. While we still expect to see sunshine today and at times tomorrow, temperatures will be cooling down to more seasonal levels due to a wind change (now arriving from the north and east). A disturbance may introduce showers on Thursday and now there is a possible wrinkle for this coming weekend. A combination of coastal low pressure and more onshore flow could trigger clouds and showers; but our confidence is definitely still low at this early stage. Temperatures: Current area temperatures. Powered by Weather Bonk. Map by Google. Hover

PM Update: Mainly clear skies remain for now

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:30:56 -0500

Cooler but seasonal air filters in overnight and tomorrow * Photos: Reflections of autumn in D.C. | Sesame Street's weather * * Outside now? Radar, temps & more: Weather Wall | Traffic * We tacked on another brilliant day today after yesterday's warm and beautiful one. Temperatures in most locations reached right around 70 for highs. A cold front that pushed through this morning will put an end to the mini-warm streak and knock us back down closer to average the next few days. Webcam: Latest view of D.C. from the Netherlands Carillon at Arlington National Cemetery. Courtesy National Park Service. Refresh page to update. See this image bigger on our Weather Wall. Through Tonight: We'll see variable clouds overnight -- mostly clear this evening, trending partly cloudy later. Temperatures falling through the 50s after sunset drop to lows mainly near 40 in the suburbs and into the mid-40s for

Foliage photos: Reflections of autumn in D.C.

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:45:00 -0500

* A mostly bright week: Full Forecast | Best of Sesame Street weather * Sunrise Nov. 7 at the Tidal Basin. I made a couple trips around the area earlier this month to photograph foliage. The color seemed to be peaking downtown around the Potomac and the Mall while west of the city the trees seemed past peak. I decided to group a few D.C. shots together with a reflection theme. Below are a few of my favorite (or unique) photos. The Tidal Basin and puddles from early-November rains provided the reflections.