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D.C.-area forecast: It’s the hottest day of this heat wave, but it will stay steamy through Friday

July 2, 2018 at 5:00 a.m. EDT
A flower photographed along New Hampshire Avenue near Dupont Circle in Washington on Saturday. ( <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/aon/42216629375/in/pool-capitalweather/">Angela N./Flickr</a> )

* Heat advisory noon to 8 p.m. | Code orange air quality alert *

TODAY’S DAILY DIGIT
A somewhat subjective rating of the day’s weather, on a scale of 0 to 10.

2/10: The only good thing I have to say about this extreme heat is that it’s not record-breaking.

EXPRESS FORECAST

Today: Mostly sunny, hot and humid. Highs: 93-98.
Tonight: Muggy. Lows: 74-79.
Tomorrow: Mostly sunny, hot and humid. Highs: 91-96.

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FORECAST IN DETAIL

Today represents both the midpoint and climax of this heat wave, the season’s longest so far. But even as the heat eases ever so slightly, the rest of the workweek will remain uncomfortably hot and humid. It’s not until the weekend that some meaningful relief is likely to arrive. To mark the transition to the cooler air, we may have some strong storms late Friday.

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Today (Monday): Hazy, hot and humid. If your morning commute requires much walking, you may feel like you need a shower by the time you get to work. Highs reach the mid- to upper 90s, and factoring in high humidity (dew points 70 to 74 degrees), it will feel like 100 to 105 this afternoon. There’s little breeze to take much of the edge off the heat, blowing from the south at about 5 mph. Confidence: Medium-High

Tonight: Muggy is the word. Of course, with the loss of sunlight, the evening is the preferred time for any strenuous outdoor activity. My choice would be a dip in the pool. Overnight, relief from the heat is slow, as lows barely slip below 80 downtown, with mid-70s in most other spots. Confidence: Medium-High

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the latest updates. For related traffic news, check out Gridlock. Keep reading for the forecast through the weekend . . .

Tomorrow (Tuesday): It’s not quite as hot as Monday, but still plenty sticky. Highs should reach at least the low 90s, and humidity is as bad or worse than Monday. Heat indexes around 100 are likely in the afternoon, with not much in the way of cloud cover or wind. Confidence: Medium-High

Tomorrow night: Another sweaty night. Lows mostly settle around the mid-70s. Confidence: Medium-High

A LOOK AHEAD

July 4 and Thursday are sultry summer days. Highs should top 90, and humidity stays high to very high. We may have somewhat more cloud cover than previous days and a slight chance (about 20 percent) of a pop-up storm or two late in the day. Overnight lows remain warm, close to the mid-70s in most spots. Confidence: Medium-High

Friday is likely to be the eighth straight hot and muggy day, but also the last. Highs should again push 90, but an approaching cold front brings a reasonably good chance of showers and storms between the late afternoon and evening, which could be on the strong side. Partial clearing Friday night, with lows maybe dipping into the 60s if the front passes through fast enough. Confidence: Medium

Gradually cooler and less-humid air funnels into the region over the weekend. Unless the front slows, we should feel a big change by Saturday and certainly by Sunday. With increasing sunshine, highs may just reach the low to mid-80s, and humidity levels should be noticeably lower, especially by Sunday. Confidence: Medium

SNOW POTENTIAL INDEX

A daily assessment of the potential for at least 1 inch of snow in the next week, on a 0-10 scale.

0/10 (→): Hi.