The city wakes to scattered showers and a gray veil shrouding the Capitol, with the National Weather Service (NWS) reporting temperatures of 56°F and climbing. The air, thick with 90% humidity, carries the weight of impending rain – a 40% chance through the pre-dawn hours, offering a soggy handshake to early risers.

A break in the clouds is promised later on Saturday, as the NWS forecasts gradual clearing and a benevolent high near 70. Northwest winds could show their might, gusting as high as 29 mph – a bracing challenge to umbrellas and hats alike. Before the skies brighten, residents must navigate a potentially treacherous morning, with a 30% likelihood of showers until 8 am.

But the real story is at the water's edge where a Coastal Flood Advisory lurks, threatening the District of Columbia, Arlington County, and the City of Alexandria with significant tidal floods. "Up to one foot of inundation above ground level in low lying areas due to tidal flooding," warns the National Weather Service in their latest alert, a reminder of nature's capacity to encroach upon the manmade.

The advisory stays its course until 9 AM EDT, with high tide marking the peak of concern. The NWS cautions that water may embrace the curbs of King Street and Strand Street in Alexandria and flirt with the seawall adjacent to Ohio Drive. As the Potomac whispers secrets of its next move, local authorities urge the public to avoid inundated roads – for water often hides its depth, and its reach, as much as it does its intentions.

Looking ahead to a new week, the forecast foreshadows a favorable turn with a medley of sunny and clear spells, interspersed by a chance of rain come Wednesday. The mercury is set to rise and fall in gentle waves, teasing the highs and lows of the mid-60s to low 70s – a subtle reminder from the National Weather Service that spring is as much a season of growth as it is of change.