Summer Warmth Ahead of Schedule

May features ideal weather for all!  (Bethesda, MD)

Temperatures have finally turned the corner in the Nation’s Capital.  May has gotten off to a warmer than average start, following April which was the first warmer than average month of 2015 in Washington, D.C.  Today is poised to be the third consecutive day with high temperatures in the 80s across the DC Metro Region.  The high temperature reached 84 degrees yesterday for the third time this year.  However, today’s temperatures may be even warmer downtown making May 5 the warmest day yet of 2015.

The last time it was 85 degrees at National Airport (the official weather reporting site for Washington, D.C.) was more than seven months ago on September 27.  The average high for May 5 in the Nation’s Capital is 73 degrees so a high temperature of 85 would be significantly warmer than average.  However, 85 degrees is the average high for June 16 in the Nation’s Capital.  High temperatures are poised to climb to the mid to upper 80s in parts of the Mid-Atlantic Region today.

Although temperatures in the 80s aren’t expected on a daily basis until next month in the Nation’s Capital, a few days in the 80s are fairly typical in May.  That’s because May continues the transition from spring to summer and the weather pattern this week is very summer-like.  A large area of high pressure is sitting off the Southeast Coast of the United States pumping warm and increasingly humid air into the Mid-Atlantic Region.  Most Washingtonians would say today feels more humid out than it has the last few days as both dewpoints and relative humidity values are higher.  A cold front is approaching the DC Metro Region from the Great Lakes Region meaning the prospect of afternoon showers and thunderstorms has also increased today.

May typically sees bouts of showers and thunderstorms such as on May 8-9, 2008.  That’s when a severe weather outbreak impacted the Mid-Atlantic Region with confirmed tornadoes in Stafford County in northern Virginia as well as in Prince Georges County in Central Maryland.  Record rainfall was also observed downtown on May 9, 2008.  Fortunately, no injuries were reported.  But with today’s warmer temperatures and increased relative humidity, the atmosphere is more conducive to showers and thunderstorms as the cold front approaches.

Following the second consecutive colder and snowier than average winter in the Nation’s Capital, Washingtonians are relishing the June like temperatures that have enveloped the Mid-Atlantic Region so far this month.  Temperatures are expected to remain warmer than average for the rest of the week.  You can rely on my colleagues and I on the WUSA9 weather team for the latest forecast approaching the upcoming Mother’s Day Weekend.