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Mild with less in the way of wind and plenty of sun. If it's not going to snow... might as well enjoy!
 
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Today: Partly to mostly sunny. 52-57 | Tonight: Partly cloudy. Upper 20s to mid-30s | Tomorrow: Partly cloudy, p.m. sprinkle or flurry? Mid-40s to near 50. | A Look Ahead | Get Express Forecast by E-mail

In a month, and (so far) a winter, where warmth is the rule, it’s probably no surprise that much of the forecast period will feature milder than normal air. The general story through Monday is a step-down in temperatures, and then on Tuesday we start to go back the other way as the month of January closes. While it looks like February starts on the same warm and snowless note, it’s hard to forget how many big snowstorms have happened in that month!

Snow Potential Index: 1 (→) - Chance of a late Sunday snowflake. Not much after that for next week. May trend more favorable after though.

 

The SPI is a daily assessment of the potential for accumulating snow for the next week on a 0-10 scale. Get the 'SPI' on Twitter

 

Today (Saturday): Get ready for more sun! It’s another not-too-wintry one out there with cool morning temperatures rising to mild afternoon readings mainly in the mid-50s. Winds blow from the west around 10-15 mph with higher gusts. Confidence: Medium-High

Tonight: Under partly clouds skies, our gradual cool down continues, and that means 20s return to the map in spots. It’s January, so what do we expect, right? It’s actually still a bit warmer than normal, with lows in the upper 20s to mid-30s. Confidence: Medium-High

Keep reading for the forecast through the beginning of next week...

What a day! Thunderstorms rocked the region, the mercury spiked and then reversed course as winds raged. Less volatile, dry weather arrives this weekend, but it’s still more more like March than late January. Saturday’s a good 10 degrees warmer than average, and even Sunday’s temps are a notch above the norm.

Through Tonight: It’s a bit blustery this evening, but the gusty wind from the west at 10-20 mph (gusting to 25-30) gradually ramps down overnight. Temperatures also steadily drop, bottoming out from 33-39 (suburbs-city). Wind chills will fall from the 40s this evening to near freezing by morning.

The weekend: Both days feature partly to mostly sunny skies and a breeze (10-15 mph, with some higher gusts). Saturday’s on the mild side, with highs in the mid-50s. Partly cloudy and turning chilly Saturday night, with lows from the upper 20s to low 30s (downtown). Sunday’s noticeably cooler than Saturday, with highs in the mid-40s.

See Camden Walker’s forecast into early next week. And if you haven’t already, join us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. For related traffic news, check out Dr. Gridlock.

Rainfall totals: The showers and thunderstorms which punched through the region this morning generally dropped 0.25-0.75” of rain although there were pockets of higher (northeast of the District) and lower amounts (west of the District). At the airports, Reagan National received 0.63”, Dulles 0.19” and BWI 0.89”.

Plant hardiness zones, an indicator of the coldest winter temperature, have shifted north and northwest since 1990 around Washington, D.C. (USDA; Patterson Clark and Laris Karklis - The Washington Post) Planting zones are retreating north all over the country, but the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) won’t state the obvious: the shift is a rock solid indicator of climate change.

On Wednesday, the USDA released a new plant hardiness zone map, which contours the nation according to average annual lowest winter temperatures. The new zones analyze these temperatures for the period 1976-2005, updating a 1990 version of the map, which covered 1974-1986.

Interactive map: USDA upgrades Plant Hardiness Zone Map

Although these zones, which serve as a guide to the kinds of plants that can grow, have shifted north in most areas, USDA shied away from making a climate change connection.

“The map is not a good instrument for determining climate change,” said Kim Kaplan, a spokeswoman for the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service. “It’s not that there hasn’t been global climate change it’s that the map isn’t a good (vehicle) for demonstrating it.”

A massive snow pile in Oakton, Virginia, January 26, 2012. How long will our snow piles last?

Do you remember Snow Pile Watch 2010, when our monstrous snow piles lasted into May? Those were good times, the snowstorms were big and the snow piles were even bigger.

This year, unfortunately, we cannot seem to replicate any part of that record-breaking winter season. Instead, we have had two small snow events that barely allowed for a sled run. And, now there is even more bad news for us snow lovers, the February 2012 outlook appears quite bleak for snow and wintry weather.

So, I have finally had enough of the bad snow news and the various discussions of canceling winter early. In an effort of unbridled denial that this winter is actually awful, I have started Snow Pile Watch 2012.

I took the camera with me Thursday morning and I photographed an assortment of both amazing and scary snow piles across western Fairfax County. These photos will surprise and astound even the most doubtful of our winter weather enthusiasts. Sit back and be amazed.

Continue reading for some amazing and scary snow piles.

Weather map shows cold front moving through region at 10 a.m. (National Weather Service) More than one deafening crash from the heavens jolted the metro region this morning. The noise was so loud, jarring, and out of season, some did not immediately think “thunder” when they heard the clamor, but were concerned it might be something else, like a blown transformer, a plane crash, a sonic boom, or a bomb. Rest assured, it was thunder. Here’s what happened...

A warm front moved through overnight and very warm, moist unstable rushed northward, pushing temperatures above 60 degrees. This morning, a dynamic cold front collided with this unseasonably mild, juicy air. The result: a line of springlike showers and thunderstorms.