Chance of Storms, Then Cooler Weekend Ahead Watch Out for Falling Googlenopes

* Severe Thunderstorm Watch in Effect until 10pm *

Now

Warm, humid, scattered thunderstorms. Yesterday's forecast indicated that the chance of showers would increase today, but for many places, that increase has only been from none to slim. A midafternon storm brought strong winds and some downed trees to areas south of the Beltway, but National picked up only 0.05" of rain, and even about 20 minutes of a heavy thunderstorm was good for just 0.07" at Dulles. In this part of MoCo just a few miles north of the Beltway, the rain was barely enough to dampen the ground, despite the grumble of thunder. In the storm to the south, Quantico reported a wind gust to 63 mph.

Temperatures, which had reached at least 92° at National before the storm, were mainly in the 70s by 4pm where it had rained.

There is a chance of thunderstorms through this evening. Tomorrow will be a transition day on the way to what until this very moment was a Googlenope: "spectacular July weekend weather".

Tonight and Tomorrow

Warm, humid, chance of showers, then turning cooler. The chance of showers or thunderstorms, some possibly severe, is 50% through this evening. Mostly cloudy and humid conditions will continue overnight with lows in the mid 70s downtown to some upper 60s in the 'burbs. Clouds will decrease tomorrow along with lower humidity and highs 84-87°.

For the outlook through the weekend and beyond with Larson's Long-Range, scroll on down to Josh's post below.

Geek Chic

Ever wonder what kind of gear Sue Palka has at home? Today's WaPo Home section is packed with information for the home weather geek, from basic gear to weather vanes and data sources, including "a mind-numbingly comprehensive and entertaining look at Washington's weather."

Political Science

Today's House hearing on the Proenza affair at the National Hurricane Center was mainly a snoozefest, adding little to what is already known on the subject. Adm. Lautenbacher was clearly much more at home in the Congressional spotlight than ousted Director Proenza, but hardly any new light was shed on what really occurred. Committee Republicans were so persistent in their party-line refrain of, "Nothing to see here but a personnel matter, just move on," that it just raised more questions about what might have been covered up. The Academy Award for Most Juvenile Whining goes to former committee chairman [Non-]Sensenbrenner, who repeatedly attempted to derail the proceedings at the outset with demands that Proenza not be allowed to testify because his prepared remarks were not submitted in advance. Failing that, he then demanded that the Admiral be allowed to pull rank by testifying first. For more of the tedious details, check out the Miami Herald, "Proenza defiant despite critical storm center report".