Sultry, Not Stifling Showers Still Sought

Severe thunderstorm watch until 9pm

Now

Warm, humid. Dewpoints mainly in the mid 60s are at the lower end of the discomfort range, so temperatures near or at the 90° mark are not especially oppressive in the Washington metro area this afternoon. With proper hydration and UV protection, light exercise is certainly not out of the question.

Meanwhile, a stationary front draped east-west over most of the state of Maryland should help provide a focusing mechanism for showers and thunderstorms. At mid afternoon, however, the only significant storm activity was near and to the northeast of Charlottesville, but well south of I-66. By later in the afternoon, a smaller area of storms extended from the Frederick/Montgomery Co. line across the river to central Loudoun Co.

Tonight and Tomorrow

Continued warm and humid, chance of showers. After a 20% chance of showers or thunderstorms through this evening, mainly south of the District, lows tonight will be in the mid 70s downtown to the upper 60s in the cooler 'burbs. A few storms could be severe. Tomorrow will again be warm and humid with highs 89-94° and only a 20% chance of afternoon or evening thunderstorms.

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

Climate Corner

Yesterday's WaPo featured a page A1 article, "Climate Change Debate Hinges On Economics" by the paper's energy reporter. As several questions in this morning's live discussion indicated, the emphasis of the article was far more on the perceived political and economic costs of climate policy action as opposed to the much higher likely costs of inaction. A related podcast is also available. Extending the multimedia presentation, Tom Toles' cartoon today takes a stab at solving the carbon sequestration issue.

Today's WaPo science section was devoted to the first in a monthly series of articles called "Confronting a Changing Climate." The article, "Clues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice", discusses the possible consequences, as well as the uncertainties, of Greenland and Antarctic ice sheet melting. For an analysis of some Greenland ice research published just a couple of weeks ago, see the recent post at the RealClimate blog.

Tropical Topics

The National Weather Service's National Hurricane Center is issuing advisories on Hurricane Cosme in the eastern Pacific, but the Atlantic basin remains quiet.

An article, "Future forecasts face uncertainty", in Thursday's Miami Herald described the effects of "[a]ging equipment, cost overruns and delays in producing new satellites" on hurricane forecasting as discussed in last week's Senate Commerce Committee hearings.