Forecast: A sunny welcome to the first day of meteorological winter

Another nice weekend awaits!

Today's Daily Digit

 

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

 

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A sky full of sun keeps the rating high even if temperatures are no match.
 
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Today: Sunny, light breeze. 51-55. | Tonight: Clear and calm. 25-36. | Tomorrow: Mainly sunny. 54-58. | Get Express Forecast by E-mail

Meteorological winter (December through February) starts out abnormally normal today! Seasonable highs, forecast for today, are quickly slipping to the 50 degree mark. We should best that most of the weekend. These sunny weekends are getting to be a good habit, so plan your outdoor ventures now. For you snow lovers, I fear there will be a bit of a wait.

Snow Potential Index: 1 (↑) - Snow is a no go through the weekend. For the eternal optimists in the crowd, there is a smidgen of hope next Wednesday as a strong cold front passes through.

 

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 (Thursday): A day of non-stop sunshine is on tap. That should help to diminish the chill that greets us this morning. Winds out of the north at 5-10 mph and highs only in the low-to-mid 50s make a formidable jacket a must, especially if you are going down for the White House Christmas tree lighting. Confidence: High

Tonight: Breezes quickly diminish and stars are atwinkle as high pressure settles in. This is one of those nights where lows cover a wide range. For those of you in the outlying colder spots look for mid-to-upper 20s but for the urban hot spots mid-30s are as low as it goes. Confidence: High

For related traffic news, check out Dr. Gridlock. Keep reading for the forecast into early next week...

Tomorrow (Friday): Plentiful sun dominates the day, although there could be some mid-day clouds as a quick moving cold front zips across the area. This could set off some snow flurries up in Pennsylvania but we stay high and dry. Temperatures are not affected by these goings on and highs should still reach the mid-to-upper 50s. Breezes are light from the west. Confidence: Medium-High

Tomorrow night: A bit of a surge of cold air makes its way into the region this evening. Winds from the north signal this event . Skies are mostly clear and lows drop to the low-to-mid 30s. While much of the region has seen at least one or two freezing nights (if not many more), Reagan National Airport is still waiting. Tonight could still be another near miss and even if it does, this year is already in the top ten for latest freezes. Confidence: High

Saturday is a great day to gather up the last of the leaves as winds are very light. Bright sunshine is a plus and temperatures manage to climb to the low-to-mid 50s. The evening gets chilly quickly as sunset is now about as early as it will get (around 4:45 pm) for the year. Lows range from the low-to-mid 30s suburbs to upper 30s downtown. Confidence: High

Sunday sees those high wispy clouds slowly increase throughout the day as a front in the Midwest is picking up some moisture. Still, the clouds shouldn’t be thick enough to keep temperatures from warming to the mid-to-upper 50s. Clouds thicken overnight but showers are still far to the west. Overnight lows range fromthe upper 30s to mid- 40s. Confidence: Medium

Monday should be a mostly cloudy day but the cold front looks like it may stall to our west. This helps to keep the chance for showers at a mere 20%. Highs should reach the mid-to-upper 50s as long as the rain stays away. Confidence: Medium