Transitional Thursday

Yesterday's light snow is but a memory in the Washington metro area this afternoon, although I can still see some scrapings from my front walk basking in the strong late February sun. Temperatures were in the low 50s throughout the region by mid afternoon. Earlier, a minor area of upper-level energy passing through created the instability which produced a few briefly moderate showers, particularly in northern Montgomery County.

Geese enjoying the course at the Hidden Creek Country Club in Reston, VA, yesterday afternoon. Photo © Kevin Ambrose, CapitalWeather.com

Winds have picked up from the west and northwest, gusting as high as 32 mph. Temperatures should be near seasonable levels for the next 24 hours before dropping over the weekend as the northern branch of the jet stream regains dominance over the eastern part of the U.S. (See Josh's post below for the extended-range details.)

Tonight and Tomorrow

Skies will be mostly clear tonight with lows around 30. Tomorrow will be sunny and cooler with highs near 46.

Political Science

The Council of the American Meteorological Society adopted a statement on "Freedom of Scientific Expression" last week. It states in part,

The ability of scientists to present their findings to the scientific community, policy makers, the media, and the public without censorship, intimidation, or political interference is imperative.

Weather Addiction

We already knew that weather can be addicting, but this is taking it to the extreme: The Roanoke Times, via the dcrtv blog, reports that two Roanoke TV weathermen have been struggling to deal with heroin addiction. One of them, Marc Lamarre, is no longer employed by the station, WSLS (Channel 10).