Foster Lewis, 9, cools off from an afternoon of batting practice at McLean Little League on Saturday. Photo by Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post. Below, right: This snapshot from Dupont Circle on Sunday isn't an ad, we swear. Photo by Melina Mara/The Washington Post
I'VE BEEN SITTING in my air-conditioned office for about a half hour after a sweltering trudge from the Metro to the office. I still haven't stopped sweating.
It's downright nasty out there — and it has been since Friday.
How long will it last? According to the Capital Weather Gang, till Tuesday. (Sorry.)
After that — and a spate of nasty thunderstorms — temps will hover in the far-more-palatable mid-80s. For now.
The brain-melting heat has been particularly tough on vulnerable folks like the elderly — especially those left without power due to last week's barrage of thunderstorms.
The Post's Pamela Constable and Matt Zapotosky tell the story of one group of local seniors:
At Waverly House, a senior housing facility in Bethesda that lost its air conditioning, 73 residents voluntarily moved out over the weekend, finding refuge with relatives and friends. One resident complained of heat-related stress Saturday night and was examined by rescue workers, said Tedi Osias, a spokeswoman for the agency that manages the facility.If you've got to venture back out into the muck, just try to visualize yourself in the middle of the scene in the picture below.Portable air conditioners were set up in the facility's lunchroom, where residents who hadn't left sipped lemonade, sweating but in good spirits.
"I miss it very, very much," Bessie Evans, 65, said of the air conditioning, which broke down Tuesday. "I'll be glad when it's back on."
» "Pre-Summer Sizzle Heads Into Third Day" [WaPo]
TO HELP FOLKS BEAT the developing heat, the District Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency is opening its cooling centers today from until 6 p.m.
According to an alert by the D.C. government, the centers are located at
» The Reeves Building, 2000 14th St. NW;
» Judiciary Square, 441 4th St. NW;
» The King Building, 3720 MLK Jr. Ave. SE; and
» The Williams Center, 920 Rhode Island Ave. NE.
IT'S BARELY JUNE, but try telling that to local thermometers this weekend. (Sigh. They never listen.)
It's already 70 degrees at 9:30 a.m., and once the heat is on the street today, it's not expected to relent. The National Weather Service has issued an Excessive Heat Watch for the area from Saturday morning through Monday afternoon.
Reports A. Camden Walker at the Capital Weather Gang:
Not being alarmist, but personally I am surprised at how early the threat for isolated 100-degree readings is invading our region. Most folks on Saturday and Sunday will stay in the upper 90s... but details don't matter really. It will be record-challenging hot this weekend.Expect temps in the upper 80s today with sticky humidity. The mercury isn't expected to dip below 70 in the District for the duration. Get a full forecast from the Gang here.
File photo by Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post
Josiah Boyer and Kristin Tomasulo look at a tree that fell Wednesday at 9th and K streets NW. Photo by Katherine Frey/The Washington Post. Below right: Virginia Melanson of Chicago seeks shelter from the storms in Annapolis. Photo by Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post
GOOD MORNING, WASHINGTON. If you haven't seen a downed tree limb, power line or other detritus from yesterday's onslaught of powerful stormy weather, you're one of the few.
The violent storms are blamed for one death, and caused so many power outages that Montgomery County and Prince George's County decided to shutter their public schools for the day today, although scheduled graduation ceremonies will go on as planned.
Here's the latest on power outages from The Post's Maria Glod, Debbi Wilgoren and Tom Jackman:
In Northern Virginia, more than 115,000 customers remained without power as of 7:30 a.m. this morning, Dominion Virginia Power reported. Pepco said there were 72,000 homes and businesses without power in Montgomery County, along with nearly 18,000 homes and businesses in Prince George's County and almost 12,000 customers in the District. Baltimore Gas and Electric reported another 7,000 outages in Prince George's, along with 20,000 outages in Anne Arundel County, 5,500 outages in Howard County. And some 6,400 outages remained in Southern Maryland, according to utility officials there.Area utility companies said last night that they will need until late tomorrow to restore service to all their customers.
THE QUICK BLAST OF rainy, gusty badness that just hit the D.C. area has impacted the afternoon/evening commute in at least one major way: A downed tree is causing a backup on the northbound George Washington Memorial Parkway.
Express' Kris Coronado was driving in the area at about 3:45 p.m. and reports that traffic was moving at a crawl for about four to five miles; the backup begins about a half mile from the Capital Beltway. Proceed with caution.
Get more traffic information at washingtonpost.com's traffic section.
The Capital Weather Gang has the latest on the weather situation in the area.
THIS COULD COMPLICATE your evening commute: A line of severe storms is making its way toward the Washington area, our colleagues at the Capital Weather Gang blog are reporting.
A tornado watch is in effect for the area until 8 p.m., and the storms could bring hail, lightning and wind gusts to 70 mph. The storms are most likely to hit the metro area between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., the gang says.
Just a few moments ago, meteorologist Chad Myers on CNN was telling folks in Martinsburg, W.Va., just an hour and a half or so away, to head for cover. So this storm could be a big 'un.
Get updated information and watch a radar loop at their site here.
Photo of flooded roads in Beltsville this morning by James M. Thresher/The Washington Post
YOU'D NEVER KNOW IT'S mid-May by looking at the thermometer for the past two days. It's cold. And rainy. And windy. And so over-the-top crappy that some folks — yours truly included — have transitioned from being congested due to pollen to being congested because of some airborne terrorist that hijacked our bodies while unseasonable cold and ridiculous wetness teamed up to distract our immune systems.
Blah.
Thankfully, our colleagues at washingtonpost.com's Capital Weather Gang say that relief is in sight: Tomorrow will boast temps in the mid to upper 60s and some extremely welcome sunshine.
But before that, we have to get through today, when temperatures will struggle only into the lower 50s, and tonight, when the mercury will dip into the 40s. The rain should end tonight.
Continue Reading "D.C. Area Deluge to End Tonight; Warmer Tuesday" »
IT MIGHT NOT SEEM like it today, but the Washington area is in the early stages of a warming trend — a sure sign that spring is on the way.
If you ignore the snowflakes you might see tonight, that is.
Jason Samenow of washingtonpost.com's Capital Weather Gang reports that warmer temperatures are in store for the week, with highs reaching into the upper 50s by Thursday. But don't shelve those winter coats just yet — next weekend might bring a brief return to chilly weather.
And don't worry about tonight's flakes — Samenow says they'll only appear briefly, mixed with light rain overnight.
» "Forecast: Warming Trend Begins" [Capital Weather Gang/WaPo]
DURING LAST WEEK'S POTOMAC PRIMARY, countless commuters were stuck in epic traffic jams because of icy precipitation. Many missed their chance to vote, especially those in Virginia who were stuck on or near the icy Springfield Interchange.
In Maryland, a decision was made to lengthen the voting span by 90 minutes on account of the bad weather conditions, but Virginia voters didn't get such an extension.
A guest writer at the Virginia politics blog Not Larry Sabato was stuck for three hours in traffic that Tuesday evening, and missed out on voting. Wrote Greg Galligan:
The closing of 395 South at the [Springfield Interchange] for three hours was by definition an extraordinary event that required an extension of the polling hours. I call on our elected leaders in Richmond to investigate this incident and create a better system for dealing with massive shocks to our transportation system in Northern Virginia.
Continue Reading "Kaine: Rules to Extend Poll Hours Need Changes" »
FROM THE LOOKS OF THINGS downtown, the region's expected dose of winter weather this week is essentially a cold rain — nothing out of the ordinary for this time of year.
Still, it makes for a miserable walk in spots like 18th and M streets NW, pictured above.
Out in the suburbs, however, a more icy mix caused accidents and delays. As The Post's Howard Schneider and Debbi Wilgoren report this morning, the worst accident involved 15 cars on an icy ramp over I-270 in Montgomery County. Nobody was hurt in that incident.
Addison Road