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D.C.-area forecast: Gusty showers this afternoon and winds whip into Sunday

Some outdoor plans may work out today as showers will be scattered and intermittent

By
April 12, 2024 at 5:00 a.m. EDT
3 min

Radar courtesy MyRadar | © OpenStreetMap contributors

Today’s daily digit

A somewhat subjective rating of the day’s weather, on a scale of 0 to 10.

6/10: We can salvage a few outdoor plans today. Be flexible with wind and precipitation chances. Drier air moves in, helping 60s feel more pleasant.

Express forecast

  • Today: Windy with scattered afternoon showers. Highs: Mid-60s to near 70.
  • Tonight: Breezy. Brief showers early? Lows: Mid-40s to around 50.
  • Tomorrow: Windy, more sun than clouds. Highs: Low-to-mid-60s.
  • Sunday: Slightly windy, stray shower. Highs: Mid-to-upper 70s.

Forecast in detail

Winds may gust over 40 mph today and into tomorrow. This could cause a few places in our region to experience wind damage behind this exiting cold front. Most of us (especially allergy sufferers) experience mere “annoying” gustiness into Sunday. Other than tomorrow’s break, we’ve got stray showers and even quick rumbles of thunder peppering the forecast.

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Today (Friday): Some showers could linger early in the morning before a few more pop up in the afternoon At least sunshine levels increase with time, if looking for some brightness. Very cold air aloft creates an unstable environment leading to increasing afternoon cloud cover. Showers that pop up should start to wane as the sun sets. A couple gusts from the west and southwest may get as high as 45 mph. High temperatures aim for the mid-60s to near 70 degrees. Confidence: Medium-High

Tonight: Skies are mostly cloudy as a couple quick shower pulses could move through in the evening. Rain amounts shouldn’t add up to too much. Breezes from the west continue, perhaps gusting near 40 mph. Temperatures dip into the mid-40s to around 50. Confidence: Medium-High

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Tomorrow (Saturday): Wind gusts from the west and northwest could gust as high as 45 mph. Skies lean mostly clear and sunny but a few clouds are possible. While high temperatures should still manage the low-to-mid-60s, the wind may make it feel several degrees cooler. Confidence: Medium-High

Tomorrow night: We should remain mostly clear and cool off nicely as winds die down a bit but clouds may increase a bit toward morning. Low temperatures are in the mid-to-upper 40s. Confidence: Medium-High

Sunday: It’s still looking slightly windy, as a storm system zips to our north. Cloud levels are hard to pin down so far, but we should see bright skies overall, especially in the afternoon as it looks now. Should we stay fairly bright high temperatures should reach the mid-to-upper 70s. There’s an outside chance of a shower, mainly in the morning. Confidence: Medium

A look ahead

Sunday night: Only a slight chance of showers, mainly before midnight, but timing may move around just a bit. Skies should average partly cloudy, with clearer skies currently favoring pre-dawn hours. Low temperatures aim for the mid-to-upper 50s. Confidence: Medium

Warmth continues Monday and Tuesday with less wind and decent amounts of sunshine. A strong (late-August-level) sun angle this time of year heats us readily into the upper 70s to low 80s. Wear that sunscreen, too! Rain chances are low but a stray shower or quick downpour can’t be ruled out either day. There is downside risk to high temperatures, if we see more clouds than currently expected. Should that happen, we may have to lower high temperature projections several degrees. Confidence: Medium