PM Update: Milder air and brighter skies still expected before sunset for much of the area

Through Tonight: As the last of the cool, damp air erodes from the region while a warm front continues its trek north and east past our area, patchy drizzle, showers, or even a brief thunderstorm should fully cease by midnight. Skies then turn clearer with time. Southerly and then westerly winds could gust near 25 mph, helping to dry us out. Low temperatures should get down into the low to mid-40s by dawn.

View the current weather at The Washington Post.

Tomorrow (Sunday): Brilliant blue skies with high temperatures in the mid-60s to near 70 degrees in the warmest spots. Only a few midday clouds look possible. A great day to get out and enjoy spring. Westerly breezes could still gust near 25 mph. We’ll take what we can get?

We shouldn’t feel a noticeable wind chill — although allergy sufferers be aware of the pollen blowing around! Overnight skies are mainly clear until right before dawn. We get seasonably chilly, dipping down in the low to mid-40s.

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Today’s weather setup with a “wedge” of cooler, cloudier air

In case you ever wonder what local meteorologists mean when they refer to a “wedge” of cooler, cloudier, damper conditions, look at the cloud formation against the eastern side of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the below satellite loop.

As a warm front pushes north and east of us, the clouds and cooler air between I-81 and I-95 are the hardest area to force out this denser air that’s settled against the higher terrain. Especially the protected areas and valleys on the eastern and northern sides of our region’s mountain ranges. Southwesterly breezes are last to make it to these areas, since they’re temporarily rerouted by the mountains. The cooler air still in place had previously settled in from the east and northeast, off of the Bay and Atlantic.

Cooler temperatures and drizzle reports have coincided along this same area; but, eventually, as we get toward sunset and overnight, this cooler, heavier air will get scoured out as the lighter, warmer air slowly punches in from the south and west. (Yes colder air is heavier than warm air, which plays into the physics of it all.) Sunshine also helps circulate warmer air into the low cloud deck, as high clouds have started to move away, following the warm front’s passage.

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