Could the DC area see a low-humidity, pleasant summer’s day on Thursday?

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After the D.C. area saw severe storms that left thousands in the dark on Wednesday night, the region could have lovely, low-humidity summer days on Thursday and Friday.

The cold front that swept over the region Wednesday brought serious thunderstorms that caused delays at all three major airports and put the area on severe storm watch until midnight. The storms also packed heavy downpours, something the D.C. region desperately needed after a series of hot and rainless days.



More than 10,000 Dominion Energy customers in Northern Virginia were left without power late Wednesday night around 11 p.m. That includes outages for about 2,000 combined customers in Loudoun, Fauquier and Prince William counties, and around 9,000 customers in Fairfax County.

A spokeswoman for Dominion Energy told WTOP that the outages are due to downed trees and downed power lines all across the area. Crews are out and expected to work through the night and to the end of the day Thursday to get power restored.

However, remnants from Wednesday’s storms are expected to slow down the work crews.

Thursday will have clear skies around 7 a.m. accompanied by some gusty winds and a drop in the humidity that has bogged down the D.C. area for the past week. 7News First Alert meteorologist Brian van de Graaff says the weather will be “rather refreshing.”

“We’re watching some drier air start to work its way in here today behind last night’s rain, so some good news there,” he said. “We’ll see the humidity dropping back, should be rather comfortable.”

Temperatures should stay in the upper 70s with highs in upper 80s, making it one the coolest day in almost two weeks. Friday will also offer a bit of respite from the hot and humid conditions lately.

“Friday looking fantastic: Mid-80s, sunshine, low humidity, it’s gonna be a great day!” van de Graaff said.

However, the humidity will return in full force over the weekend, along with scattered showers.

“Now the weekend will become steamy, looks like temperatures could be back in the low 90s but with high humidity,” van de Graaff said. “It’s going to be soupy, that could lead to a couple afternoon storms both days but still plenty of dry time.”

Full forecast

THURSDAY:
Gradual clearing
Falling humidity
Highs: 85-90
Winds: Northwest 5-10 mph
Cloudy and damp conditions this morning will give way to brighter skies by lunchtime and more seasonable afternoon highs near 90. After a warm and humid start to the day, humidity levels will drop by the afternoon making it feel more comfortably warm later today. Delightful conditions are expected for your evening plans.

THURSDAY NIGHT:
Mainly clear
Lows: 65-71
Winds: North 5 mph
It will be a very comfortable night with low humidity and most neighborhoods falling into the 60s.

FRIDAY:
Mostly to partly sunny
Highs: near 85
Winds: Southeast 5-10 mph
We’ll wrap up the last week of June with really nice weather. After a comfortable morning in the 60s, temperatures will warm into the mid-80s by the afternoon with low humidity. Enjoy it because humidity levels soar into the weekend. 

THIS WEEKEND:
It will be a very humid weekend with dewpoint temperatures in the mid-70s, which is very high for our area. High temperatures will reach the upper 80s on Saturday with highs in the low 90s by Sunday. With the sky-high humidity, feels-like temperatures will be near 100 Saturday and closer to 105 Sunday. Heat advisories are possible on Sunday. While it will not be a washout weekend, expected chances for rain and storms that could impact your outdoor plans. 

Current weather

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Ciara Wells

Ciara Wells is the Evening Digital Editor at WTOP. She is a graduate of American University where she studied journalism and Spanish. Before joining WTOP, she was the opinion team editor at a student publication and a content specialist at an HBCU in Detroit.

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