Rain's Reign Rejected

Now

Clear, breezy. Northwesterly breezes gusting over 20 mph have put a slight nip in the air, but temperatures near 60° have made for a rather pleasant mid-November afternoon in the Washington metro area, especially compared to yesterday's drenching downpours. Although National touched 60° early in the afternoon, Dulles made it only to 59°. High pressure building in behind the departed low and some clouds from a weak upper level disturbance will result in seasonable, but cooler temperatures tomorrow.

Tonight and Tomorrow

Some clouds, cooler. Under mainly clear skies and diminishing winds tonight, lows should be near 40° in town and mid to upper 30s in the 'burbs. Partly cloudy skies tomorrow morning will give way to increasing clouds in the afternoon and highs around 54°.

For the outlook through the rest of the weekend, scroll down to Camden's post below.

Precipitation Perspective

While yesterday's soaking was widespread, amounts varied significantly across the DC/MD/VA region. National and Dulles each recorded respectable amounts over 1", but BWI had 2.35".

Your view of where this fits in the larger scheme of things may have a lot to do with which side of the Potomac you sit on, however. If you've listened carefully to the WeatherTalkers Berk and Pann this year, you may have heard them talk of a Baltimore deficit of precipitation, even after the deluges of early summer and fall. In fact, the current excess of yearly precipitation at BWI of 2.41" is almost completely accounted for by the amount which fell yesterday. The area map, from the NWS New Precipitation Analysis Pages shows the year-to-date precipitation as a percentage of the long-term average. Although areas generally to the south and east of DC are 100-110% of normal (gray) or 110-125% of normal (green), large portions of central Maryland between the Beltways are at 90-100% (light yellow) or even 75-90% (dark yellow).