Capital Weather Gang from The Washington Post

Daily forecast for the Washington area

D.C.-area forecast: Wild ride from 60s to near 70 today, to chance of snow late tonight

The Ulysses S. Grant Memorial on Capitol Hill, taken Feb. 5, 2017. (George Jiang via Flickr)

Winter storm watch for northern MD, including Frederick and Carroll counties

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

8/10: Day 2 of our spring fling should delight, even with a chance of snow late at night.

EXPRESS FORECAST

Today: Still warm, with a stray shower? Highs: Mid-60s to near 70.
Tonight: Increasing chance of rain, could change to snow late. Lows: 30s.
Tomorrow: Snow/rain tapers early, windy, lingering snow shower? Highs: Mid-30s to low 40s.

View the current weather conditions at The Washington Post headquarters.

FORECAST IN DETAIL

Get ready for a wild ride. Temperatures surge into the 60s to near 70 again today, but by late tonight we could see rain changing to snow. The warm ground makes it tough to accumulate, but tomorrow will be cold and blustery nonetheless. Friday stays chilly before we warm well above average again this weekend.

Today (Wednesday): Spring-like warmth continues today with partly cloudy skies and the chance of a stray shower. Mild early-morning conditions give way to midday highs in the mid-60s to near 70. Winds breeze in at around 10 mph from the west and southwest this morning, and from the northwest this afternoon. We may fall short of the record high of 70 degrees at both Dulles and BWI, with a better chance of challenging the record high of 68 at Reagan National. Confidence: Medium-High

Tonight: Shower chances increase by mid-to-late evening, with rain likely overnight. As temperatures drop into the 30s late tonight, the rain could change to sleet and snow around 4-7 a.m. Light accumulations are possible, maybe a dusting to around 1″, mainly on grassy areas north and west of the District. However, some roads could see a bit of slush, especially in the northern parts of Loudoun, Montgomery and Howard counties. Areas further north, in Frederick and Carroll counties, could see 2-4″ of snow with more significant road impacts, but only if temperatures can drop to near freezing (which is not a certainty). 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 the weekend…

Tomorrow (Thursday): The snow or rain, or some combination of both, should taper by 9 a.m. or so. Again, the best chance of seeing any road accumulation during the morning commute would be in our far northern suburbs. A few lingering snow showers remain possible through afternoon, as winds gusting 30-40 mph from the northwest hold highs to the chilly mid-30s to low 40s, with the wind making it feel even colder. Confidence: Medium

Tomorrow night: Winds remain on the breezy side through evening before diminishing overnight. Temperatures tumble nicely as skies become mostly clear, with lows all the way down to the upper teens to mid-20s. Confidence: Medium-High

A LOOK AHEAD

Still cold and a bit breezy on Friday, as highs stall in the mid-30s to near 40 under partly to mostly sunny skies. And then we’ve got one more somewhat chilly night in this stretch on Friday night, with lows in the mid-20s to low 30s. Confidence: Medium-High

This weekend we welcome back gradually warming temperatures, with Saturday highs in the mid-50s to low 60s, and Sunday highs in the 60s to near 70. Also note a few light rain showers are possible Saturday night and Sunday. Confidence: 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.

0/10 (↓): After tomorrow morning, no credible snow threat through the next 7 days.

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