D.C.-area forecast: Sunny, windy and warmer today ahead of a stormy Christmas Eve

Gusty winds up to 30-40 mph are possible today.

Today’s daily digit
A somewhat subjective rating of the day’s weather, on a scale of 0 to 10.

6/10: Warmest weather in days with sunshine, but that wind is not so fine.

Express forecast
Today: Partly to mostly sunny, windy. Highs: 45 to 50.
Tonight: Mostly clear, colder. Lows: 27 to 33.
Tomorrow: Mostly sunny. Highs: 44 to 48.

Forecast in detail
We finally feature more sunshine today and tomorrow, but gusty winds at times complicate conditions today. A powerful cold front approaches on Christmas Eve, with some heavy rain likely from Thursday evening until about midnight on Christmas. Heavy rain could change to snow before ending, and we could even see a few flurries Christmas morning with a much colder, blustery day. The weekend warms only slowly, but at least the sun should show up again.

Today (Tuesday): Partly to mostly sunny skies with temperatures warming to the mid-40s and maybe even the low 50s in some spots this afternoon for the warmest readings since Dec. 13. Windy weather kicks up by late morning through the afternoon, with air blowing from the northwest at 10 to 15 mph and gusts from 20 to 40 mph possible at times. Confidence: Medium-High

Tonight: Mostly clear and turning colder with decent night-sky viewing as winds weaken and temperatures drop to the upper 20s to low 30s for early-morning lows. Evening breezes are in the 10-to-15 mph range from the west, but fade late at night. Confidence: Medium-High

Tomorrow (Wednesday): Mostly sunny with highs in the mid- to upper 40s, along with calm winds or very light breezes from the south. Confidence: High

Tomorrow night: Clouds increase with lows in the low to mid-40s. Confidence: Medium

A look ahead
Christmas Eve runs cloudy with showers at times during the day as temperatures surge into the upper 50s to low 60s. At some point in the evening or toward midnight, a strong, fast-moving gusty line of showers and thunderstorms should blow through the area with the Arctic cold front. Very heavy rain is expected, and the cold air is so close that we could see the rain turn to snow before ending, but odds of any accumulation are very low. Lows by early Christmas morning are in the mid-20s to low 30s with windy conditions. Confidence: Low-Medium

Christmas Day could see a few early-morning snow flurries with skies then becoming partly sunny, but still somewhat windy and quite cold, with highs only in the 30s (wind chills in the 20s … brrr). Christmas night sees a few clouds and is quite cold, with lows in the midteens to low 20s. Confidence: Medium

The weekend warms slowly. Saturday should see mostly sunny skies and highs only in the 30s. Mostly clear skies Saturday night with lows in the 20s, while mostly sunny skies on Sunday help temperatures rebound to the mid- to upper 40s. Confidence: Medium

https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/12/22/dc-area-forecast-sunny-windy-warmer-with-stormy-christmas-eve/?