DELMARVA FORECAST
Tuesday night: Clear skies. Lows in the low to mid 40s.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with some more clouds by afternoon. Light north winds. Highs near 60°F.
Thursday: Partly cloudy. Mild. Highs in the mid 60s.
Friday: Mostly sunny. Mild. Highs in the low 60s.
Saturday: Partly cloudy. Warm. Highs in the low 70s.
Sunday: Showers and thunderstorms by afternoon and evening. Warm. Highs in the low 70s. Chance of rain 70 percent.
Monday: Lingering showers in the morning, then clearing. Highs in the low 60s.
FORECAST DISCUSSION
Normal high: 54°F. Normal low: 34°F.
Our forecast for the week ahead continues to focus on dry and mild weather.
With high pressure in charge, expect a clear and quiet Tuesday night, with light south winds and overnight lows in the low to mid 40s.
As a low pressure system crosses well to our north, a trailing, weak cold front will sag down over the Mid-Atlantic. This front won't bring any rain with it, but it will bring slightly cooler temperatures on Wednesday, with highs around 60 degrees, which is still quite a few degrees above normal for this time of year. The day starts off mostly sunny, but we'll see some clouds overspread Delmarva as we head into Wednesday evening.
Our guidance is struggling to agree on when that cold front will lift back north, and with the front expected to drop down to around Delmarva, it is going to make for a difficult temperature forecast for Thursday. For now, I'm going to stick with partly cloudy skies and highs around, assuming the front begins to lift north in the morning. If the front takes longer to lift north, our temperatures Thursday could be cooler, in the 50s.
We'll wrap up the work week on Friday with sunshine and low 60s.
By Saturday, we're still thinking temperatures will climb into the low 70s with increasing southerly flow ahead of a cold front on Sunday.
We're still expecting a round of rain and thunderstorms, with the timing likely Sunday evening, although one model has storms later, more toward early Monday morning. Confidence is rapidly increasing, though, that we'll see thunderstorm activity sometime around Sunday night.
In the long range, temperatures are expected to average above normal, and precipitation above normal for March 18 - March 24.