Skies brighten at times tomorrow into the weekend, but shower chances stick around.
Welcome to cwg.live, updated around-the-clock by Capital Weather Gang meteorologists.
Happening now: Another cloudy day with occasional showers. It's a cool start, around 40 to 45 this morning. Afternoon highs are warmer than yesterday but stall in the upper 40s to mid-50s.
What's next? More showers are possible this evening. Another step warmer tomorrow with highs near 60 to near 70, and we have a shot at the 70s by Friday or Saturday. Skies brighten at times tomorrow into the weekend, but shower chances stick around.
Today's daily digit -- 5/10: Afternoon highs approaching or above 50 are a decent improvement, but clouds hang tough while occasional showers keep things damp.
Forecast in detail
Today (Wednesday): Mostly cloudy again with occasional showers and light winds. Temperatures start around 40 to 45 this morning. They'll warm up a bit as we head into the afternoon, but it's still a rather cool and damp day with highs in the upper 40s to mid-50s. Confidence: Medium
Tonight: Occasional showers continue during the evening before diminishing overnight, although it could remain misty with some fog. Lows settle back into the 40s. Confidence: Medium
Tomorrow (Thursday): Much of the day may end up mostly dry. Partly sunny skies and light winds from the south should give temperatures a boost. Highs mainly in the 60s to near 70, although some areas north and east of the Beltway could stall near 60. Shower chances increase again by afternoon or evening, especially north of D.C. Light winds come from the south. Confidence: Medium
Tomorrow night: Scattered showers become more likely. They may continue to favor areas from around D.C. to the north. Otherwise partly to mostly cloudy with lows in the upper 40s to mid-50s. Confidence: Low-Medium
A look ahead
Friday may start mostly cloudy, but should eventually turn partly sunny with an isolated shower possible. With a front nearby, it’s a fine line between only reaching the upper 50s to low 60s versus warming to near or above 70. The farther south and west you are in the region, the better your chance of the warm end. Friday night lows fall back to the 50s under partly cloudy skies. Confidence: Medium
Partly sunny and potentially even warmer to start the weekend. Right now it looks like highs in the 70s Saturday and near 80 can’t be ruled out, though there’s a chance that a front keeps some northern and eastern areas in the 60s. Sunday highs could be anywhere from the mid-60s to mid-70s. A few showers are possible each day, with the highest chance currently looking like Saturday afternoon into evening, when a thunderstorm is possible as well. Confidence: Low-Medium
Today in weather history:
Snowstorm in 1909 for President Taft's inauguration
On this date in 1909, a calendar-day record 9.8 inches of snow fell, coinciding with the inauguration of William Howard Taft.
"Washingtonians awoke to blizzard-like conditions," wrote Capital Weather Gang's Kevin Ambrose in his account of the storm. "Heavy snow and high wind whipped the capital. Nearly 10 inches of snow accumulated in D.C. that day."
Taft's swearing-in ceremony was moved indoors because of the storm, but the inaugural parade went on as scheduled.
The day before the storm, heavy rain (1.75 inches, a calendar-day record) had fallen, and the forecast was for improving weather. "Much to everyone's surprise, the rain changed to snow during the evening of March 3 and the snow continued," Ambrose wrote in another article about the storm.
The 9.8 inches of snow, the second-most on record for a March calendar day, melted a few days later, and the high temperature soared to 75 degrees on March 10.
Here are other notables for the day:
- Average high: 53
- Average low: 35
- Record high: 82 (1983)
- Record low: 4 (1973)
- Record precipitation: 1.24 inches (1993)
- Record snowfall: 9.8 inches (1909)
Jason Samenow contributed to this report.