Some Say "Sultry," Many Mutter "Muggy"

Now

Mostly sunny, warm, muggy. Whether you call it "sultry," "muggy," or "yucky," classic DC heat and humidity are back in the Washington metro area: temperatures mainly in the upper 80s, dewpoints pushing into the 70s. Late this afternoon, Culpeper's readings of 90° (temperature) and 72° (dewpoint) produced a heat index of 97, while a southerly river breeze kept the National Airport official temperature and dewpoint to 87° and 69°, respectively, for a more bearable heat index of 91.

After several days of discomfort, more pleasant conditions are predicted for next weekend.

Tonight and Tomorrow

Chance of evening storms, continued muggy. There is a 30% chance of scattered thunderstorms through this evening, mainly to the south and west of the immediate metro area. Warm and muggy conditions will prevail overnight with lows from the low 70s downtown to some upper 60s in the 'burbs. Tomorrow will be hazy, warm, and humid with a 25% chance of afternoon or evening thundershowers and highs 89-93°, heat indices reaching the mid or upper 90s.

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

Tropical Topics

The UK Met Office last week issued a hurricane season forecast which is considerably tamer than those issued earlier by NOAA and Colorado State. The UK forecast, which is being issued publicly for the first time, uses a dynamical (physical) model of the ocean/atmosphere system, called GloSea, as opposed to the mainly statistical techniques used in other forecasts. The prediction calls for 10 named storms in the July-November period, slightly less than the recent historical average of 12.4.

Climate Corner

In an exclusive report, The Onion last week detailed the Bush Administration's latest climate change program, the NACI (National Air Conditioner Initiative). Bush is quoted as saying,

"Global warming threatens us all, whether we're mowing our lawns, rafting down a river in a national park, or driving to the end of the driveway to get our mail. The task that lies ahead is undeniably hard. But if we do not succeed, we will be profoundly inconvenienced. And I promise you: America will not let that happen."

Graphic courtesy The Onion.