7:00 AM | ****Major rain event for the Mid-Atlantic region on Thursday and Thursday night****
Paul Dorian
6-Day forecast for the Washington, D.C. metro region
Today
Clouds and limited sun, breezy, noticeably milder, chance for a shower or two, highs in the low-to-mid 70’s
Tonight
Mainly cloudy, becoming quite breezy, mild, chance for rain late, lows in the lower 60’s
Thursday
Occasional showers early then periods of rain, maybe a thunderstorm or two, some of the rain will be heavy at times, watch for localized flooding, windy, mild, mid-to-upper 60’s for afternoon highs
Thursday Night
Occasional showers, maybe a thunderstorm or two, some of the rain can be heavy at times, watch for localized flooding, windy, mild, low-to-mid 50’s for late night lows
Friday
Mainly cloudy with occasional showers likely, mild, near 65 degrees
Saturday
Mainly sunny, nice, near 70 degrees
Sunday
Increasing clouds, quite warm, chance of showers late in the day or at night, near 75 degrees
Monday
Partly sunny, mild, chance of showers, near 70 degrees
Discussion
**A major rain event is on the way**...The active weather pattern that we have been experiencing in the Mid-Atlantic region and Northeast US over the past few weeks will continue well into May aided in part by a continuation of cold air outbreaks from Canada into the central and eastern US. The upper-level jet stream across the country as we close out the month of April is very active and has featured numerous strong waves of energy in recent days and another one is on the way. This next powerful wave of energy aloft will dive southeast from southwestern Canada into the Upper Midwest by this afternoon and then slide into the Mid-Atlantic region by late tomorrow. The combination of this wave of energy in the upper atmosphere, a painfully slow-moving surface frontal system, and a strong flow of very humid air up along the east coast will result in a major rain event for the Mid-Atlantic region on Thursday into Thursday night. Given the well saturated grounds from recent rains, this next soaking rain event could very well lead to localized flash flooding conditions – something to closely monitor. Looking ahead, the good news is that the weekend looks like it’ll start off with very nice weather on Saturday and it could hold on for much of Sunday as well before more showers return to the area.
Meteorologist Paul Dorian
Perspecta, Inc.
perspectaweather.com