Today:
Before noon, expect partly sunny skies and a steady breeze coming from the southwest. By the afternoon, things will start to get interesting! Isolated showers are a slight possibility between noon and 3 p.m., but the thing to be wary of is the wind. The NWS is predicting wind gusts up to 50 mph in DC and the surrounding areas. With a wind advisory in effect between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m., the NWS suggests (as well as myself) that drivers are more cautious and that those who live in our area secure their outdoor objects. Basically, if you take your trash out to the curb, make sure it doesn’t make a mess, and try not to lose your trash can!
10 meter wind speed (kts) and 2 meter temperature (F) from the WRF-ARW model. A WRF-ARW deterministic model run captures 10m wind speeds of 20 kts (~23 mph) near College Park, MD at 3 p.m. EST, February 23. Image via https://mag.ncep.noaa.gov/model-guidance-model-area.php.
Tonight:
Winds will die down significantly throughout the evening, eventually becoming light by midnight. Tonight will be the only night this week where the low temperature drops below freezing, with a low around 31 degrees F. The rest of the week will be warmer than tonight, so depending on how much you enjoy winter, this is a positive outlook for the week.
Tomorrow (Wednesday):
Today will be unseasonably warm, with mostly sunny skies and a high around 58 degrees F (which is ~9 degrees above the average high temperature for this time of year). To somewhat dampen the warmth of tomorrow, winds will likely still be strong, however, they will not be as strong as the day before. Expect winds near 14 mph and gusts upwards of 25 mph, especially in the mid to late afternoon.
A Look Ahead:
Expect a beautiful lineup of sunny, relatively warm days for the remainder of the work week (compared to all the winter weather we’ve seen the past few weeks). Highs for Thursday and Friday will be near their average temperatures for this time of year, with temperatures in the range from 45 to 50 degrees F. Wind will likely cause no issues for the remainder of the week, so take advantage of the respite from winter weather, and enjoy the comparatively comfortable days to come.
Featured image courtesy of Clairy Reiher.