Where's the Rain?

Now

Showers, cool. This afternoon's local area forecast discussion was asking, "Where's the rain?", as a low pressure area moved northeastward through the Ohio Valley along with its associated complex warm fronts. Through mid day, metro area amounts were quite disappointing for the waning days of a month which so far had been nearly 50% below average. National picked up a mere 0.03" overnight, and Dulles had only a trace. By mid afternoon, however, showers had reached at least the western portion of the region, and Dulles had 0.14" in the hour ending at 4pm. There is still plenty of moisture around as a cold front extending southward from the low moves eastward, so showers and even some thunderstorms are likely through midnight tonight.

Surface weather map at 4pm today from IntelliWeather

Tonight and Tomorrow

Showers and mild, then clearing and cooler. Showers are likely through this evening and into tonight with chances decreasing to 20% by morning and lows 47-50°. Skies will clear by tomorrow afternoon with highs 55-59° and increasing northwesterly winds.

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

Tropical Topics

With the official Atlantic tropical season rapidly winding down, AccuWeather's Joe Bastardi was recently interviewed by the Sarasota Herald Tribune on the somewhat less than stellar results of his hurricane season forecast.

The Miami Herald's hurricane reporter Martin Merzer today reviews the Colorado State Gray/Klotzbach and NOAA tropical season forecasts and raises the interesting question of whether such forecasts (and, by implication, seasonal outlooks in general) do more harm than good by undermining confidence in short-term storm warnings.

Business Climate: Easy Being Green?

On a slow business news day, a local DC newspaper has a collection of articles on the attempts of Washington-area businesses to balance environmental challenges with opportunities for the pursuit of profit. Included are SunEdison and its CEO Thomas Rainwater (apparently his real name), Honest Tea, Marriott International, Tower Cos., and Trex. The Federal Diary covers the design of a new building for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and there is also a review of the recent Greater Washington Board of Trade conference "Green as a Competitive Advantage".