Capital Weather Gang from The Washington Post

Daily forecast for the Washington area

D.C.-area forecast: Cold today with a brief wintry mix possible tonight; stronger winter blast mid-to-late week

A cold start yesterday morning in the nation’s capital. (Brian Swogger via Flickr)

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

4/10: It’s still cold, and now it’s cloudy, but not having to deal with that wind is worth a bonus point in my book.

EXPRESS FORECAST

Today: Mostly cloudy and cold. Highs: Upper 30s to near 40.
Tonight: Wintry mix possible late. Lows: Mid-to-upper 30s.
Tomorrow: Scattered rain showers, milder. Highs: Mid-40s to low 50s.

View the current weather conditions at The Washington Post headquarters.

FORECAST IN DETAIL

And just like that, we’ve turned on the “winter” switch around here. While we lose the raw winds today, we lose the sun as well. Our next front moves in overnight and may briefly bring a wintry mix before turning to all rain. By midweek a reinforcing chill arrives as we keep our eye out for any signs of our first real snow threat.

Today (Sunday): We may get a few breaks in the clouds early, or at least some filtered sun, but on the whole it’s a mostly cloudy end to our weekend. Most of us shouldn’t see anything more than a flurry, but those in our far northern areas toward the MD/PA border could see some snow showers this morning into early afternoon. Highs don’t make much headway thanks to thickening clouds, only reaching the upper 30s to around 40, with a light wind coming from the south by afternoon. Confidence: Medium-High

Tonight: Temperatures stay fairly steady overnight and may even tick up a few degrees. Some light precipitation could arrive after midnight, and might start as a brief wintry mainly in our northern and western suburbs, with no accumulation expected. Everyone should be all rain by 4-5 a.m., as temperatures hover in the mid-30s to near 40. Confidence: Medium

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for the latest updates. For related traffic news, check out Dr. Gridlock. Keep reading for the forecast through midweek…

Tomorrow (Monday): Showers are likely through the morning before diminishing during the afternoon. Despite the clouds and showers, milder air surges in ahead of a cold front. Highs climb to the mid-40s to low 50s on the back of a steady breeze from the southwest around 10 mph. Confidence: Medium

Tomorrow night: The front makes it through, but the real push of cold lags behind, so it’s a rather seasonable overnight. Lows drop to the low-to-mid 30s with gradually clearing skies. Confidence: Medium-High

A LOOK AHEAD

We’re under a weak area of high pressure on Tuesday as we await our next arctic push. That sets us up of for a rather run-of-the-mill mid-December day, with partly sunny skies and light winds as highs reach the mid-40s to near 50. Tuesday night trends mostly cloudy with lows falling into the low-to-mid 30s. Confidence: Medium

We’re mostly cloudy and cold on Wednesday, but not as cold as what’s coming. Highs should manage the upper 30s to low 40s, with a 30% chance of rain or snow showers by afternoon. Any snow should be light, but we’ll likely get excited about it anyway. Thursday and Friday highs may struggle to reach the freezing mark. Confidence: Low-Medium

SNOW POTENTIAL INDEX
A daily assessment of the potential for at least 1 inch of snow in the next week, on a 0-10 scale.

1/10 (↑): A bit of light snow possible late Wednesday and a storm risk next weekend is enough to bring the SPI out of hibernation.

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