We'd never recommend driving through the kind of weather that rolled through the region last night, but I suppose if you are going to do so, Iron Maiden is a more than appropriate soundtrack. [There's some NSFW language in the video, though I suspect anyone pressing play on footage of someone driving through a twister probably already arrived at that assumption.] more ›

It may not look like it at this very second, but we're slated for some pretty severe weather this afternoon and evening. The National Weather Service isn't kidding around: they've gone ahead and tacked on a Tornado Watch for the District, which is in place until 4 p.m. this afternoon. The NWS warns that "thunderstorms will be capable of producing damaging wind gusts and isolated tornadoes." (Do note the difference between a watch and a warning, the latter of which is a much more urgent situation.) Those storms should start moving into the D.C. area around noon -- keep a tight grip on those umbrellas out there, Washington. more ›

Morning Washington. The winds have subsided and we're back to a typical February day: mild and sunny. We're not quite away from winter yet though: we might see some snow Monday night into Tuesday. more ›

Morning Washington. After the last few days of glorious, spring-like weather, we've returned to a still seasonably warm 50s but with really strong winds. Those winds might gust up to 70 miles per hour, so while it looks sunny and inviting outside, just be warned that not all is as it seems. more ›

Mayor Adrian Fenty and friends held a press conference this afternoon to update us on the work that's being done to restore power and clean up from yesterday's massive rain storm. Fenty said that, despite significant damage, there had been no fatalities in the city as a result of the storm. DDOT Director Gabe Klein noted that there had been a total of 303 reports of tree damage, and that 65 intersections in the District were still without functioning traffic signals. City clean up units are waiting on Pepco to deal with downed power lines at as many as 100 sites so that they can proceed with tree removal. more ›

It's a muggy, if sunny, hot mess outside this afternoon, but it looks as though that's going to change rapidly. The National Weather Service has issued two alerts for the D.C. metro area this afternoon. A Severe Thunderstorm Watch is in effect as of 1:25 p.m., and continues through to 9 p.m. Along with rain, conditions are favorable for lightning, hail of up to two inches in diameter, and wind gusts of up to 70 mph. more ›

Powerful winds blowing through the D.C. area since last night are wreaking havoc on the city's trees and power lines. The District Department of Transportation says it has been working to respond to almost 80 reports of downed trees or branches blocking city streets, sidewalks and alleyways since the winds began on Thursday. Some trees have also fallen on top of vehicles and buildings. Here's just a small sampling of the kinds of calls D.C.'s tree crews are dealing with today: more ›

Hold on to your hats, Washington (yuk yuk). The latest Winter Weather Advisory, which kicks in at 8 p.m. tonight continues through to Thursday, is thankfully starting to look like not much of a snow threat. Light accumulations of under 2 inches, with a mix of rain, is the word at this hour. But the bigger story is the wind: beginning in the morning and building into the afternoon, winds between 10 and 25 mph are the order of the day, with gusts over 50 mph possible. Temperatures are only expected to be in the upper 30s, not that cold, but with winds that strong, it's sure to feel a lot colder. Hey, at least it's not another snowpocalypse, right? more ›

If you're been outside today, this will hardly come as a surprise: the National Weather Service has placed a wind advisory in effect for the D.C. region for the rest of the day. The advisory warns that wind gusts of up to 50 miles per hour will be rolling through the area until 4 a.m. tomorrow morning. Combine that with the currently below-freezing temperatures, and you'll get some rather frigid conditions, especially as the sun sets. more ›

Hurricane Bill may have kicked off the 2009 storm season down south, but it looks like Tropical Storm Danny will be the first storm to pay us a little visit this year. The graphic above from the National Weather Service shows Danny making its way up the Atlantic coastline, bringing some wet weather to D.C. in just about two to three short days. If we're reading this correctly, there's only a 10-20% chance of Danny picking up enough speed to turn into a hurricane, according to this map, and D.C. will most likely feel only the outer edges of the storm, so we're not exactly looking at another Isabel. The Capital Weather Gang describes the storm predictions as pretty uncertain at this point, but notes that however strong it gets, the worst of it will likely stay offshore. more ›

The National Weather Service has issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch until 5 p.m. this evening. Some of the intense storm activity that could pop up midday today includes hail up to 1.5 inches in diameter, wind gusts up to 70 mph, and lightning. Capital Weather Gang finds the silver lining: "... the cold front causing the storm threat should clear out all this muggy air. We'll feel much more comfortable for the weekend, before shower chances return early next week." Works for us.
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We don't want to minimize the seriousness of the threat Tropical Storm/Maybe Category 1 Hurricane Hanna potentially poses to the D.C. Metro area. As of mid-day on Friday, our favorite weather guys are saying 2-4 inches of rain and winds that could reach sustained speeds of 30 mph and occasional gusts to 50 mph. Should the storm intensify, we could easily see 3-7 inches of rain. That's a real storm, folks. It could even be a little freaky: minor flooding, power outages, frogs, etc. But it's also only going to last for about one day, it's not going to be as bad as Isabel, and there's really no need to stockpile supplies more than what you probably normally keep on hand: a flashlight and enough food and toilet paper to last a day or two, in the event Pepco isn't able to get the power back on right away (and that's assuming your power even goes out at all). more ›