Winter Strikes Out

Now

Sunny, seasonably mild. There are still a few more innings to be played, but winter has struck out in the Washington metro area, at least for now. Despite a northerly breeze, mild Pacific air and strong sunshine pushed temperatures beyond the optimistic end of the forecast range by mid afternoon, reaching the mid 50s. Highs were 56° at National, 52° at Dulles and BWI. After 7 consecutive days with 1" or more of snow/ice on the ground, melting has reduced the depth to 0. The melting was helped by the 0.25" of showers which fell last night. Freezing temperatures throughout the country have retreated to near the Canadian border.

Temperature chart at 3pm today from Unisys

Tonight and Tomorrow

Partly cloudy, mild. Lows tonight will be in the mid to upper 30s under partly cloudy skies, with some low 30s in the cooler 'burblands. Tomorrow will be variably cloudy with highs near 50°, but becoming breezy and colder late in the day. There is a 30% chance of showers in the late afternoon or evening.

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

Climate Corner

Today's WaPo reports that the Maryland House of Delegates has approved with a wide bipartisan 122-16 margin a bill to regulate auto CO₂ emissions. Following inaction at the federal level, 10 other states have already enacted regulations based on those established in California. Senate approval is expected, and Gov. O'Malley has promised to sign the bill, which requires new vehicles sold or registered in the state to have an average fuel economy of 43 miles per gallon by model year 2011.