7:00 AM | *Cold and dry today...a surge of record-warmth possible here on Saturday*

6-Day forecast for the Washington, D.C. metro region

Today

Some sun today to be followed by increasing clouds, cold, highs in the lower 40’s; NW winds around 5 mph

Tonight

Mainly cloudy, cold, lows in the low-to-mid 30’s

Friday

Mainly cloudy, milder, maybe a shower or two, lower 50’s for afternoon highs           

Friday Night             

Mainly cloudy, chilly, chance of showers, mid 40’s for late night lows           

Saturday

Mainly cloudy, becoming windy with gusts to 40 mph, unseasonably warm with possible record-breaking highs, chance of showers, maybe a strong thunderstorm, near 70 degrees (record high at DCA is 68 degrees set in 1979)

Sunday

Mainly sunny, breezy, noticeably colder, upper 40’s

Monday

Mainly sunny, chilly, lower 50’s

Tuesday

Partly sunny, a bit milder, mid 50’s

Discussion              

Today will be a cold and dry day in the Mid-Atlantic region with plenty of cloud cover, but a big time warm up is coming by the weekend ahead of the next strong cold front.  The surge of warmth expected on Saturday is likely to come with strong southwesterly winds and record high temperatures in much of the eastern US including perhaps the DC, Philly and NYC metro regions. Temperatures could actually soar to the 70 degree mark around here which would break the record of 68 degrees set back in 1979.  It’ll turn noticeably colder on Sunday following the passage of a strong cold front. However, the bulk of next week looks to be quite warm across the eastern two-thirds of the nation as strong high pressure ridging develops over the Great Lakes.  

Meteorologist Paul Dorian