Rain Must Follow

After nearly endless days of sunny skies, we will have the opportunity to see some beneficial rain over our weekend. A cold front will be working its way eastward from the Ohio Valley during the day on Saturday. Saturday should feature mostly dry conditions, with scattered clouds and sun in the mix. During the late afternoon, and into the evening-overnight, we should have some thunderstorms and showers arrive into our area. Some thunderstorms may be strong, especially north and west of DC. Another concern is the threat for heavy rainfall within any shower or thunderstorm. Sunday will be still unsettled as the front stalls across the south. Some remaining energy from the front may affect parts of southern Maryland and Virginia, but on the whole, any shower or storms will be very isolated and limited to the Tide waters of Virginia and North Carolina. Once this front has passed through our region by Monday, look for better chances of precipitation through out next week. It looks as though after this dry pattern some precipitation will come back into play. It will not be a total wash-out next week, but better chances of some precipitation with still sunny and dry conditions expected.

The tropics remain quiet and it will continue to do so for quite a while. Something tells me that we are going to see little to no tropical systems, but one powerful Hurricane that will strike the U.S. coast hard. I have a feeling that the East Coast has a favorable chance this year to see a Tropical Storm or Hurricane.

-William M.

Summer Unfolds

Hot....steamy....and humid conditions all make for a wonderful feeling in the summer's air. Do not confuse yourself with fog and haze! It may look like some fog is around, but it is the moist humid air mass hovering over our heads that forms haze. As a result, one may look at summer as the "Dog Days." Currently, high pressure has been the dominate influence in the weather. Sunday, an upper level low will track across the northeast, allowing for some showers and embedded thunderstorms to develop. As the low pressure drags along a cold front, we can expect temperatures to be similar to what we have seen these days. Some afternoon showers with thunderstorms are a good bet, especially for the northern areas of our area. Main threat would be gusty winds and maybe some small hail. Severe threat is very limited, as instability will be very marginal. Our sunny and dry days ahead will return for the upcoming week. Some isolated showers and storms are possible as we get closer to the middle of the week. High pressure will remain in place over the eastern seaboard allowing some "cooler" temperatures and less activity in terms of precipitation. The jet stream remains calm and will do until later this coming week. An area of tropical concerns in the Caribbean/Gulf of Mexico may need to be monitored, especially as it may impact Florida with some prolong rain. Nothing of great worry is needed, but as always, tropical systems can develop rather quickly.

-William M.

So Close...Yet No Cigar

As you may have noticed, we have been in a very active weather pattern. This is due to an active jet stream that is just south of us. When the jet stream is along or south of us, we tend to see some fairly active weather. Storms have not been shy at all this week. We have seen nearly 2 inches of rain in 48 hours. This was highly anticipated as thunderstorms rolled into our region both in the morning and afternoon hours, with several boomers overnight. We are almost up to 6 inches of rainfall for the month of June in most locations, and we still have many more chances of some rain in the days ahead. Today will be quite calmer than the previous days. An active trough is allowing low pressure systems to ride along it and provide rain and thunderstorms. Friday will feature mostly sunny skies, with a slim chance of some precipitation. Although NOAA has issued our entire region a slight risk of severe thunderstorms, I think that threat pertains more in the overnight hours for the northern suburbs, as a disturbance from the Ohio Valley begins to affect our northern parts of our region later tonight. Tomorrow, the severe threat shifts to the I-95 corridor, where strong storms are a good bet as a cold front advances towards the Mid-Atlantic. Damaging winds are the primary threat with any storm or line of storm. Once the front passes through, much calmer and comfortable conditions prevail for the beginning of Summer and Father's Day!

-William M.