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D.C.-area forecast: Cool weather dissolves midweek and, suddenly, it’s summerlike by the weekend

May 11, 2020 at 9:50 a.m. EDT

Radar courtesy MyRadar | © OpenStreetMap contributors

* Frost advisory west of the District midnight to 9 a.m. Tuesday *

Today’s daily digit

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

4/10: Hard to give this day a strong score. Yes, we’ll see some sun, but it’s windy, a shower is possible, and temps are 10 to 15 degrees lower than normal.

Express forecast

  • Today: Passing shower chance. Otherwise, partly sunny, windy. Highs: 57 to 62.
  • Tonight: Partly cloudy, breezy, cold. Lows: 35 to 40.
  • Tomorrow: Mostly sunny, breezy. Highs: 58 to 64.

Forecast in detail

The chilly weather pattern that has persisted since mid-April is on its last legs. The next three days are cooler than average, but then temperatures quickly leap into above-average territory. By Friday, highs are in the 80s, some 30 to 35 degrees warmer than six days before. Rain chances this week are pretty spotty, with most shower activity remaining to our north and west.

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Today (Monday): A brief shower is possible early on, especially in our northern areas, as a cool front sweeps by. Skies should begin to partially clear by mid- to late morning. Expect a partly sunny but breezy afternoon, with highs within a few degrees of 60. A passing shower can’t be entirely ruled out as winds blow from the northwest at 10 to 20 mph with some gusts to 30 mph. Confidence: Medium-High

Tonight: Mostly clear to partly cloudy skies and quite chilly. Lows range from the mid-30s in our colder spots to just above 40 downtown. A few spots of frost are possible in our colder areas. Winds from the west and northwest overnight gradually relax from 10 to 20 mph to 5 to 10 mph. Confidence: Medium-High

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Tomorrow (Tuesday): Remember Sunday? This is close to a carbon copy — maybe just a few degrees cooler. Under brilliant sunshine and a moderate breeze, highs head for the low 60s in most spots. Winds are from the west and northwest at 10 to 15 mph, with some gusts over 20 mph. Confidence: Medium-High

Tomorrow night: Clear, calm and cool. Lows range from the mid-30s in our colder spots, with perhaps some patchy frost, to the low to mid-40s downtown. Confidence: Medium-High

A look ahead

Wednesday looks to be a fantastic day with sunshine, light winds and pleasant highs from 65 to 70. Winds start coming in from the south overnight, slowing the decline in temperatures, with lows in the 40s to near 50 (downtown). On Thursday, as a warm front slides through the area, we can’t rule out a brief shower. Highs are likely to be close to average, from 70 to 75. Partly cloudy at night, with lows in the 50s. Confidence: Medium-High

Between Friday and Sunday, suddenly it feels like summer. Highs each day have a good chance to eclipse 80 degrees and we could even see some mid- to upper 80s over the weekend. Humidity is on the rise as well with moderately muggy conditions Saturday and Sunday. Overnight lows are mild, mostly from 60 to 65 except for some upper 50s in our cooler areas. Because of a stalled front just to our north, we can’t rule out a shower or storm any of these days, especially in the afternoon and evening hours. However, higher rain chances may remain to our north. Confidence: Medium

Read more about Capital Weather Gang’s confidence rating.