Community Corner

Severe Weather Predicted During Afternoon Rush Hour

Friday evening commute may be impacted by rain, wind and hail.

Update 8:30 a.m. Friday: Isolated thunderstorms may start popping up in the early afternoon Friday ahead of a cold front with stronger and more widespread thunderstorms.

Thunderstorms are expected to increase right before rush hour this evening with the strongest storms predicted from 7 - 9 p.m.

High temperatures on Friday will be in the low 80s.

Find out what's happening in Georgetownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

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Find out what's happening in Georgetownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Weather forecasters in the Washington area are casting a wary eye toward the west, where severe thunderstorms are developing ahead of a cold front. Those storms could hit the metro around around 5 p.m. Friday and have a significant impact on the evening commute.

“There may be a couple waves of storms affecting the region through midnight or so with heavy rain, gusty winds and dangerous lightning. Some storms may contain damaging winds and large hail with the outside chance of isolated tornadoes,” Capital Weather Gang’s Jason Samenow predicted Thursday.

An email from DC Alerts warned, "There is an outside chance of tornado development in the metro area" during the evening.

The email also advises drivers heed National Weather Service watches and warnings.

"If a Severe Thunderstorm Warning is issued for a particular area, citizens should avoid driving in that area until the Warning has expired," according to the alert.

Friday will start out cool and partly cloudy, with temperatures in the upper 60s around sunrise. Temperatures will rise into the low 80s with an increasing threat of scattered thunderstorms throughout the day before the evening storms roll into the area.

While driving tomorrow evening, remember these tips for driving during severe weather from The Weather Channel:

  • Turn on your lights (low beams) and leave plenty of distance for braking.
  • If you do not feel safe driving or visibility gets too low, pull over and off the road to a safe location and wait for the rain to subside.
  • In a lightning storm, your car generally is a safer place to be than outside.
  • If the power is out at an intersection, treat it as a four-way stop.
  • Do not drive through large puddles – your car may stall or flood.

Friday is the first day of meteorological summer and the first day of the , which may be “near normal” according to some forecasters.

Temperatures will rise only into the 70s on Saturday as skies clear.

The Capital Weather Gang is predicting a slightly warmer-than-average June in the D.C. metro area despite a cool start.


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