Forecast: No lump of coal for Christmas

Today's Daily Digit

 

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

 

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Plenty of sun, low 50s & Christmas Day grade inflation yield a perfect score
 
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Today: Partly to mostly sunny and mild. Low 50s. | Tonight: Mostly clear. 30s. | Tomorrow: Mostly sunny. Mid-40s to near 50. | Get Express Forecast by E-mail

Merry Christmas from us here at CWG! Well, if we’re not destined to have a white Christmas, we’ll just have to have the hap-hap-happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap-danced with Danny Kaye in the only way we can, with gorgeous weather. Of course, that means there’s no avoiding the in-laws due to the “weather” this year. Temperatures stay mainly above normal through the week ahead, though a potent area of low pressure threatens a good dose of rain Tuesday.

Snow Potential Index: 1 (→) - A potential late-week or weekend system provides the slimmest of hopes for some flakes.

 

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

 

Christmas Day (Sunday): We here at CWG have quite the present for you all this Christmas, and to enjoy it, just take a step outside. No, it’s not snow. But it’s the next best thing (or even better if you’re not a fan of the white stuff) with partly to mostly sunny skies, temperatures topping out in the low 50s, and just a bit of a breeze from the south/southwest. Quite a bit warmer than last Christmas’s highs in the mid-30s. But well short of Washington’s Christmas Day record high of 72 in 1964. Confidence: High

Tonight: It’s mostly clear and cool evening and overnight. But a persistent breeze courtesy a cold front moving through keeps temperatures from getting too chilly. Expect lows to range from the low-to-mid 30s in the suburbs to the mid-to-upper 30s downtown. Confidence: High

Keep reading for the forecast through midweek...

Tomorrow (Monday): We’re a touch cooler behind the cold front. But still living well for late December. Plenty more sun fills the skies so you won’t have the weather for an excuse not to get out and try to work off some of those cookies. A lingering morning breeze diminishes by afternoon as highs manage the mid-40s to near 50. Confidence: High

Tomorrow night: We stay well and dry through the overnight, but clouds begin to work into our skies as a low-pressure system approaches from the southwest. Lows slide back to the 30s. Confidence: Medium-High

Tuesday, a developing low pressure heads to town, and as the pattern seems to be this winter, it looks mainly wet not white. Rain is likely eventually, though whether the precipitation arrives in the morning or waits until afternoon is still in question. If it starts early enough some sleet or specks of snow could mix in briefly. But mostly we’re looking at what’s likely a good dose of rain as highs reach the mid-to-upper 40s under cloudy skies. Confidence:Low-Medium

Rain may last into Tuesday evening, maybe ending with a few snowflakes well west toward the mountains, before winds pick up and skies begin to clear overnight or toward morning. Lows dip to the mid-to-upper 30s . Confidence: Low-Medium

On Wednesday, our skies turn partly to mostly sunny as the storm system races away to the northeast and an associated cold front moves out to sea. Once again, there’s no real arctic air behind the front. But breezes should add a little chill to highs in the 40s to near 50. Confidence: Medium