As clear skies prevails over Washington D.C. today, with an expected climb to a high of 51 degrees, calm conditions invite residents to gentle reprieve from the winter chill. According to the National Weather Service, the morning will see a shift with a southward breeze reaching 5 to 9 mph.
Looking to the night, weather takes a slight turn as clouds gather, ushering in a 20% chance of rain after 1 a.m. and temperatures holding steady at around 41 degrees. The southwest winds, vestiges of the day's calm, are expected to persist, blowing at 7 to 10 mph. The tranquility of this pattern, however, belies the unsettled weather approaching in the following days.
Wednesday brings a 30% chance of rainfall, primarily after the clock strikes 1 pm, with the day hovering at a high of 52 degrees and winds maintaining a lesser sway from the southwest around 6 mph. As the evening folds into night, the odds of rain amplify to 60% before transitioning to a chance of rain and snow near 4 a.m. amidst a backdrop of mostly cloudy skies.
Temperatures on Thursday dip to a high near a frigid 32, with early risers potentially witnessing the last flurries of snow before 7 am. The northwest winds are not shy either, asserting their presence at 14 to 16 mph, with gusts punching through the cold as high as 29 mph. A 30% chance of precipitation shuttering to a close with the morning's light dustings of snow—little to no accumulation is anticipated according to the NWS forecast. Despite the cold grip of winter that seems reluctant to lose its grasp, the sun is set to make an appearance on Friday, shining among mostly clear skies and a near freezing high of 35.
As the week progresses, temperatures will fluctuate slightly, with the weekend rounding out with mostly sunny days and partly cloudy nights, leading up to a mostly sunny Martin Luther King Day at a high near 33. Washingtonians can anticipate that this January offers them only a taste of the winter's sting before the promise of spring.
