Extreme October Makeover

** North and West of DC: Freeze Warning 2 AM to 8 AM Tuesday **
** DC and Points South and East: Frost Advisory 2 AM to 8 AM Tuesday **

Now

Clear, crisp. After being in strong contention for one of the driest Octobers in history, this month has come roaring back as the ninth wettest in 137 years of records. The 6.18" storm total at National, nearly half of which fell from Friday evening through Saturday morning, was enough to push the fall total so far (September-October) about half an inch above average, although the yearly total is still 4.78" below normal. The other major reporting stations had somewhat lower amounts: 3.17" at Dulles and 5.44" at BWI. The 2.65" 24-hour amount on Friday at National was a new record for the date.

Also being made over, although not as extremely, is the temperature. Yesterday's low of 45° just before midnight was enough to put the day's average 1° below normal, the first time this has happened since Sept. 20. At 68.5° through yesterday, the monthly average is still 9.2° above normal, about 3° above the previous warmest October.

Temperatures this afternoon have rebounded from the low of 41° at National to the upper 50s under bright sunny skies. The air is also very dry with dewpoints in the upper 20s to low 30s. Calm winds, low humidity, and clear skies should provide chilly lows and widespread frost again tomorrow morning; a Frost Advisory is in effect for those areas which did not already experience frost last night.

CapitalWeather.com chart from NWS data, photo © Kevin Ambrose

Tonight and Tomorrow

Clear, cool. Lows tonight under clear skies should range from near 40° downtown to the low 30s in the cooler 'burbs with frost likely. Tomorrow will be mostly clear and warmer with highs 63-66°.

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

Tropical Topics

Tropical Storm Noel formed over the weekend in the eastern Caribbean and is headed northwestward toward the Bahamas after bringing heavy rain to Puerto Rico and the island of Hispaniola. It is expected to turn more toward the northeast as a low pressure trough moves off the East Coast. Maximum winds were 50 mph at 5pm.

Climate Business

A former software industry executive is announcing today that he has raised a near-record amount of $200 million in private venture capital funding for a radically new approach in electric car development. His company aims to provide the infrastructure for electric vehicles by establishing a network of charging stations and automated battery replacement stations. The new venture was also discussed in last week's Business Week and on CNBC's The Call this morning.

This morning's Diane Rehm Show on WAMU-FM discussed the general topic of "Going Green in the Private Sector". Podcast is available online.

Sports Weather

It's often said that baseball is a game of inches, but the roughly 5000 feet of altitude (and its 15% or more reduction in air density) in Denver has a radical effect on the sport as played there, according to the WaPo's Thomas Boswell.