The last day of Cancer season is upon us, and the stars have aligned to offer the region an appropriate, if stereotypical, forecast in the Zodiac sign’s honor: temperamental on and off rain.
D.C., Maryland and Virginia have been in quite the long drought, but this week’s collection of showers and storms may offer hardened grounds a bit of reprieve from punishing back-to-back heatwaves and ongoing drought conditions. Here’s what you need to know.
Some of the scattered showers and severe thunderstorms that found their way to parts of Prince George’s County and the Shenandoah Valley on Sunday were likely a preshow for Monday’s wet weather: spotty, unsettled and sporadic.
A wet weather pattern is expected to begin today, bringing some high rain chances to the entire region, according to 7News First Alert Meteorologist Mark Peña.
“Now we’re not expecting a complete washout but scattered showers throughout the day will amount to about a half inch of rain or less,” he told WTOP.
Storms are expected to linger during most of the daylight hours, bringing potential for some heavy rainfall around the D.C. area before storm chances taper off into the evening.
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But don’t get too comfortable with any light or heavy rains — Peña said highs could get much closer to the 90-degree mark on Tuesday and stay that way for the work week, with constant on-and-off thunderstorm chances coming along for the ride.
Editor’s Note: Don’t worry, water signs! No blame is coming to the Zodiac for the dreary skies expected this week. Tuesday, July 23 is the start of Leo season and, you guessed it, the air temperatures and heat indexes are expected to feel hotter than Monday. At least for now.
But what about the drought?
Given the lack of sustained rains over the past few weeks, Peña is expecting the rainfall totals for this week to get closer to 1-2 inches of rain — a healthy amount for the area.
“In terms of heat and heat index values across the area,” Peña said, the highs and heat indexes are expected to stay in the 90s, avoiding any heat related warnings.
“Thankfully, no excessive heat warnings or heat advisories expected as heat index values for those criteria are anywhere from 105 to 110 degrees,” he said.
Drought conditions have also been of high concern in and around the nation’s capital. While the few inches of rain expected this week won’t get us out of a drought, Peña said this week’s storms and showers will definitely do good for the regions parched fields.
“While we do need more, this is a healthy amount of rain. We don’t want too much at one time,” he said. “So this one to two inches that we’re expecting over five days is absolutely going to help out the drought conditions.”
The weather gurus over at 7News are also tracking another potential spate of helpful rain next week, though the amounts and severity of any potential storms are quite a ways out.
Outages:
Current weather:
Forecast:
BEFORE DAYBREAK MONDAY:
Increasing clouds, showers late.
Lows: 70-76
Winds: Light and variable.
Clouds will increase overnight with some rain arriving as early as sunrise. Impacts to the morning commute are not expected.
MONDAY:
Mostly cloudy, chance for rain.
Highs: 80-85
Heat Index: 85-90
Winds: South 5-10 mph
Seasonable temperatures with a chance for afternoon showers and storms. Severe threat will be low, but gusty winds, frequent lightning and heavy rain will be possible in the stronger storms.
TUESDAY:
Scattered showers and storms.
Highs: 85-90
Heat Index: 84-89
Winds: Southwest 5-10 mph
Similar to Monday, Tuesday will feature another round of non-severe afternoon showers and storms. Beneficial rains will be a welcome sight!
WEDNESDAY:
Scattered showers and storms.
Highs: 83-88
Heat Index: 88-93
Winds: South 5-10 mph
The wet weather pattern continues with more shower and thunderstorm chances. Repeat temperatures also continue in the upper 80s around the D.C. area.
THURSDAY:
Scattered showers and storms.
Highs: 80-87
Heat Index: 88-93
Winds: Southwest 5-10 mph
Another day of beneficial, scattered, non-severe afternoon showers and storms. Gusty winds, heavy rain, and frequent lightning possible in the stronger storms.
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