D.C.-area forecast: Less heat, more clouds, and occasional showers and storms

Most days should see highs in the 80s to close out July

Radar courtesy MyRadar | © OpenStreetMap contributors

Today’s daily digit

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

5/10: Notable heat reduction, but also more cloudiness and potential storm eruption.

Express forecast

• Today: Mostly cloudy, scattered showers and storms. Highs: 78-84.
• Tonight: Cloudy, chance of scattered showers and storms. Lows: 65-70.
• Tomorrow: Partly sunny, scattered p.m. showers/storms. Highs: 85-89.

Forecast in detail

The rest of this final week of July should feature more clouds than not, less intense heat, moderate mugginess, and occasional showers and thunderstorms. This trend unfortunately carries into the weekend as well. But it shouldn’t be a washout, with potential periods of partly sunny skies, and sufficient dry intervals for some outdoor activity without this past weekend’s oppressive heat.

Today (Tuesday): Mostly cloudy skies with cooler highs in the upper 70s to middle 80s today. Scattered showers are likely during the afternoon with a few thunderstorms possible, with the better chances for heavier activity on the south side of the area. Humidity is in the moderate range with dew points around 65-70 (muggier toward south side of area too). Light and variable winds, except gusty around thunderstorms. Confidence: Medium-High

Tonight: Mostly cloudy with still some scattered showers and thunderstorms, especially in the evening hours toward the south side of the area. Lows reach the middle 60s in the suburbs to about 70 in the city. Confidence: Medium-High

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for the latest weather updates. Keep reading for the forecast through midweek:

Tomorrow (Wednesday): Morning clouds and still some shower chances (or a thunderstorm) during the morning. Could see partial afternoon sunshine as temperatures heat up to highs in the middle to upper 80s. Thunderstorms could flare up again by middle to late afternoon. Humidity edges back up to the moderate to high range (dew points in the upper 60s to low 70s). Light winds from the southwest at 5 to 10 mph become gustier around any storms. Confidence: Medium-High

Tomorrow night: Evening showers and thunderstorms are possible. Otherwise, partly to mostly cloudy skies are favored with lows in the muggier lower to middle 70s. Confidence: Medium-High

A look ahead

Thursday continues a mix of clouds and sunshine. We’ll favor a partly sunny day overall with still chances for afternoon to evening thunderstorms as highs hit the upper 80s to low 90s. Humidity is in the moderate to high range (dew points around 70). Thursday night continues shower and thunderstorm chances with lows again in the lower to middle 70s. Confidence: Medium-High

Friday sees a mix of clouds and sun yet again with chances of showers and thunderstorms as high range through the less hot middle 80s. Friday night aims for partly cloudy conditions with lows from the middle 60s to around 70. Confidence: Medium-High

The weekend continues the theme of this week with skies varying from partly sunny to cloudy, highs mostly in the middle 80s, and continued scattered afternoon to evening showers and thunderstorms. Both days should see considerable periods of dry weather, though, and humidity is lower overall. Saturday night should be partly cloudy with lows in the middle 60s to around 70 again. Confidence: Medium-High