CWG Live updates: A nice Memorial Day evening; shower chances rise by late Tuesday

Washington Post

26-05-2025

Welcome to cwg.live, updated around-the-clock by Capital Weather Gang meteorologists.
Happening now: Evening temperatures fall into and through the 60s under mostly clear skies, then some added clouds overnight with lows in the 50s.
What's next? Increasing clouds Tuesday with the chance of scattered showers rising during the afternoon into evening. Showers and rain are likely at times Tuesday night and Wednesday.
Tonight: Partly to mostly cloudy skies, with somewhat cool temperatures. Evening 60s drop to around 50 to 55 by morning. Confidence: Medium-High
Tomorrow (Tuesday): Mostly cloudy, but not a bad day overall with afternoon highs a little above 70. A chance of scattered showers arrives from southwest to northeast during the late afternoon into evening. Winds are light from the southeast. Confidence: Medium
Tomorrow night: The chance of scattered showers continues during the evening, with an increasing likelihood of rain overnight. Lows are in the mid- to upper 50s, with light winds from the east. Confidence: Medium-High
A look ahead
Rain is likely Wednesday, especially during the morning. By afternoon, showers may become more intermittent or taper off. It's much cooler than normal, with highs only in the mid-60s. A lingering shower can't be ruled out Wednesday evening, but it should be mostly dry out overnight, with lows near 60. Confidence: Medium
The weather is more or less uniform Thursday through the weekend. Skies are variably cloudy and, while it's dry more often than not, showers and a few thunderstorms could pop up — especially in the afternoons and evenings. Highs should be mostly in the mid- to upper 70s and lows within a few degrees of 60. Confidence: Medium
Today's daily digit — 9/10: A few more degrees would help for visits to the pool or beach, but this weather is really hard to complain about. | 🤚 Your call?
The digit is a somewhat subjective rating of the day's weather, on a 0-to-10 scale.
GAYLORD, Michigan — On a blustery spring day here, dangerous thunderstorms are looming to the west across Minnesota and Wisconsin. John Boris, a National Weather Service meteorologist, is on duty to evaluate the chances the storms will cross Lake Michigan overnight and reach the rolling hills in a region Michiganders call 'up north.'
At his disposal is a cadre of high-tech tools: a fleet of Earth-observing satellites, supercomputer-based forecasting models and a network of ground-based weather stations.
Now, he's about to launch perhaps his most precise — and yet rudimentary — forecasting tool of all: a massive white balloon.
Twice a day, every day, meteorologists around the world simultaneously release weather balloons. But in recent months, fewer balloons are being launched in many corners of the United States. In some cases, helium or hydrogen shortages are to blame.
We had a beautiful sunrise this morning over D.C. There was a gap in clouds to the east, allowing light to shine under the clouds for a few minutes before sunrise.
Above and below find photos I took from the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial, also known as the Iwo Jima Memorial.
On this date in 1771, one of the worst floods in Virginia's history was nearing its peak. Called 'the greatest flood ever known in Virginia' by Thomas Jefferson, it affected areas from Florida to Massachusetts. Northern Virginia, including the Shenandoah River, was impacted by the flood, but Central Virginia was hit hardest, particularly areas just east of Richmond. A detailed account of the event, which was blamed for 150 deaths and great economic losses, can be found in this article: 'The Great Flood of 1771: An Explanation of Natural Causes and Social Effects.'
Here are other notables from this day:
If you were up early, there was a decent sunrise given high clouds overhead. Those clouds have been producing a couple sprinkles early this morning but should still thin out and sink southward into the midday and afternoon.