As You Like It

Now

Sunny, comfortable. The allergy sufferers and gardeners may have some complaints, but for most people it's a nearly perfect May afternoon in the Washington metro area. Following an overnight cold frontal passage, it took until after 1pm to exceed the midnight temperature of 70°, but by mid afternoon low and mid 70s were widespread throughout the region. Radar is clear for hundreds of miles in all directions.

After similar temperatures tomorrow, a warming trend should set up for the rest of the week.

Surface weather map and satellite picture at 2pm today from HPC/NCEP/NWS

Tonight and Tomorrow

Partly cloudy, seasonable. Under mostly clear to partly cloudy skies tonight, lows will range from the mid 50s downtown to the upper 40s in the coolest 'burbs. Tomorrow will be much like today with highs in the low to mid 70s.

For the outlook through the rest of the week and the holiday weekend, scroll on down to Jason's post below.

A Sinking Feeling

As you may have heard recently, some modelling studies have suggested that the Southern Hemisphere ocean may slow the rate of global warming by being a better CO₂ sink than earlier expected. You probably won't hear it from the more rabid blogs, squawk radio, or "Fair and Balanced" cable noise networks, but last week a study in the journal Science based on actual measurements indicated that exactly the opposite appears to be taking place. The data show that the capability of the Southern Ocean to absorb excess CO₂ may be already maxing out. The research was reported by the Beeb, the Guardian, and Reuters, among others.