StormWatch7 Weather Blog

Thinking it's been particularly cold lately? It has been and here is why!

...- Brian van de Graaff

Fall…it conjures up thoughts of pumpkin (spice lattes), changing leaves, sweaters and fireplaces. After a long and hot summer, it can be a welcome change. However, early this November, the first cool snap descended upon us and we jumped right into winter

Rocket Launch: Bundle up to watch!

...- Josh Knight

UPDATE...Scattered clouds Sunday morning may allow you to watch Orbital ATK's Antares rocket launch from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility. From the DMV, you'll need to look east, so the rising sun will limit just how well you can see it. A large portion of t

Arctic blast: Temperatures plunge prompting warnings

...- Josh Knight

The coldest air of the season is blowing in with tonight's cold front. In fact, this air originated from up around the North Pole!Here's a little taste of the plunging temperatures on the way. Fortunately, the air moderates at least a little bit on the way

Quickly intensifying storm system bringing heavy rain and wind Sunday

...- Josh Knight/ABC7

The rain and wind in store for Sunday will cause a real weather whiplash after our beautiful Saturday. Get ready for a much cooler second-half of the weekend as well.The rain is slow to get here, but once it does, it will stick around until Monday morning.

Heavy rain, strong winds expected with Monday night's line of storms

...- Josh Knight

Heavy rain and even a few thunderstorms will move through Monday night. Some damaging wind gusts aren't out of the question as the squall line moves through.The timing works out well to keep most of the area dry through commute time and early Monday evenin

NOAA's Winter Outlook Leans Warmer Than Normal

...- Josh Knight

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released the Winter Outlook Thursday and it looks like it will be warmer than normal around D.C.A weak and short-lived La Niña is forecast to develop and remain in place through the winter. This is expect

Windy & Soggy Start to Monday

...- Josh Knight/ABC7

Nate is now officially a tropical depression and the hurricane center has issued its last advisory on the storm. Still, as it races northeastward it will bring gusty winds and rain to many areas in the eastern U.S. While the center of the storm will stay w

Officially Irma: Busy in the Tropics

...- Josh Knight

UPDATE:As Harvey makes landfall again this morning, Tropical Storm Irma officially develops near the Cape Verde Islands:Right now it is moving West Northwest between 10-15 mph. It's important to realize this is still really far away. If it maintained that

Last minute ways to view the eclipse in the DC area

...- Alex Liggitt

Hanging around D.C. for the eclipse Monday? There are several ways you can safely view it, whether from the comfort of your home, outside or around the city.First and foremost, we want you to know that we will be covering the entire event across the countr

Hurricane Gert: 2nd Hurricane of Atlantic Season

...- Josh Knight

The Atlantic officially has it’s 2nd hurricane of the season!Gert is now clocking sustained max winds of 75 mph, enough to categorize it has a CAT1 Storm.Even though the storm is intensifying faster than originally forecast by the National Hurricane Center

Traveling for Eclipse: Plan Ahead!

...- Josh Knight, ABC7

With the Great American Solar Eclipse just about a week away, it's time to make sure your plans are in place! What makes this so special is that the entire continent of North America will get to see some degree of a solar eclipse. The majority will see var

Total Solar Eclipse; Terms you need to know courtesy of NASA

...- Alex Liggitt

The 2017 Total Solar Eclipse is now within 10 days. Our team will be teaching you more about this celestial event in the coming days so you are prepared for it whether you are staying here in the DC area or traveling to the path of totality. First and fore

Near Perfect Mid-Week!

...- Josh Knight/ABC7

Happy hump day! What a Wednesday it is. After a very refreshing morning, we are setting up for a beautiful afternoon. Temperatures this morning ranged from 50 in Winchester to 65 at Reagan National and in Annapolis. Those numbers are closer to normal for e

Solar Eclipse Viewing Spots & Events Across DMV

...- Molly Cochran

With the solar eclipse only nine days away, you might be starting to plan where you will watch the phenomenon. There are many events and viewings scheduled across the DMV. A list of some family friendly events are listed below. For adults wanting to catch

Soggy Monday with Severe Storm Threat

...- Josh Knight

After a beautiful weekend, big changes are in store to start the work week. Get ready with the rain gear and stay weather aware. A warm front lifting into our area will bring a lot of moisture with it and spark off showers starting late Sunday night. As a

Thinking it's been particularly cold lately? It has been and here is why!

...- Brian van de Graaff

Rocket Launch: Bundle up to watch!

...- Josh Knight

Arctic blast: Temperatures plunge prompting warnings

...- Josh Knight

Quickly intensifying storm system bringing heavy rain and wind Sunday

...- Josh Knight/ABC7

Heavy rain, strong winds expected with Monday night's line of storms

...- Josh Knight

NOAA's Winter Outlook Leans Warmer Than Normal

...- Josh Knight

Windy & Soggy Start to Monday

...- Josh Knight/ABC7

Officially Irma: Busy in the Tropics

...- Josh Knight

Last minute ways to view the eclipse in the DC area

...- Alex Liggitt

Hurricane Gert: 2nd Hurricane of Atlantic Season

...- Josh Knight

Traveling for Eclipse: Plan Ahead!

...- Josh Knight, ABC7

Total Solar Eclipse; Terms you need to know courtesy of NASA

...- Alex Liggitt

Near Perfect Mid-Week!

...- Josh Knight/ABC7

Solar Eclipse Viewing Spots & Events Across DMV

...- Molly Cochran

Soggy Monday with Severe Storm Threat

...- Josh Knight

Flash Flood Watch Friday and Saturday; Heavy rain likely for DC

...- Alex Liggitt

A Flash Flood Watch has been issued for the entire DC Area from 2pm Friday through 2pm Saturday. Rainfall totals of 3 inches with locally higher amounts will be possible. This will cause flooding in small creeks and streams along with area roadways.Timing

Flooding rain threat across the DC area Friday into Saturday

...- Alex Liggitt, ABC7

Friday into Saturday will feature the threat for heavy rainfall across the DC area. While the exact placement of the heaviest rain is still in question, the potential for 2-3 inches of rain with locally higher amounts up to five inches may be possible.Goin

Looking back: One year since Ellicott City's deadly, destructive flood

...- Molly Cochran/ABC7

Sunday, July 30, 2017 marks the one-year anniversary of the deadly Ellicott City flood and the community is remembering what it was like.On Sunday July 30, 2016, heavy rain fell in a very short amount of time causing a massive flood in Ellicott City. Some

Hottest day of week with higher humidity, possible afternoon Thunderstorm on Thursday

...- Eileen Whelan, ABC7

Thursday will be the hottest day of the next several days. Highs will top out in the upper 80s, but with higher humidity it will feel more like the low 90s. Expect a good bit of cloud cover with an isolated thunderstorm possible Thursday afternoon and ev

Countdown: A month away from the total solar eclipse

...- Alex Liggitt, ABC7 News

WASHINGTON (WJLA) - The U.S. is one month away from something that hasn’t occurred in 38 years. A total solar eclipse will traverse the lower 48 from Oregon to South Carolina on Monday, Aug. 21.HOW TO SAFELY VIEW THE ECLIPSEOur team wanted to put together

Summer Sizzle: Excessive heat for DC through early next week

...- Alex Liggitt

Another heat wave is settling into the DC area with the hottest temperatures of the year expected. While the last heat wave featured two days in the upper 90s, this one is forecast to have 5! Along with the heat, high humidity values will make it feel even

Waterspout Saturday on Chesapeake Bay

...- Josh Knight

While most of the area had a beautiful, summery Saturday, there was one small group of showers that formed in Anne Arundel County that moved southeast across the Chesapeake Bay. These showers produced a waterspout and put on quite a show! Will Maher shot t

Heat advisory in effect for D.C. area as hottest day of heat wave takes place Thursday

...- Eileen Whelan, ABC7

Thursday will be the hottest day of our current heat wave, and the hottest day, so far this year, with highs soaring into the upper 90s. With the humidity, it will feel around 105 degrees at times on Thursday afternoon. A Heat advisory is in effect for t

Heat Advisory for Thursday

...- Josh Knight

The National Weather Service has issued a Heat Advisory for the D.C. and Baltimore Metro areas for Thursday starting at Noon through 8 p.m.Please take this sort of heat seriously. The NWS says, the high heat and high humidity will create a situation in whi

Heat index values forecast 100+ today and Thursday, Storm threat Friday

...- Alex Liggitt, Melissa DiPane, ABC7

The combination of high heat in the upper 90s and dew points around 70 will make it feel like over 100 degrees the next two days. While no heat alerts are in place, please be sure to take necessary precautions as heat is still the number one weather-relate

HEAT WAVE: Mid 90s return to the DC area this week

...- Alex Liggitt

The hazy, hot and humid weather will return this week with temperatures in the mid 90s expected over the next three days. When combined with the dewpoint temperatures around 70 it will feel more like 100 degrees or even higher at times each afternoon.As in

Flood threat continues for parts of the DC area

...- Alex Liggitt

Update (1:46pm): The Flash Flood Watch has been expanded for the entire DC area through 6am Friday morning. Areas of moderate to heavy rainfall will continue through this afternoon and evening. Local modeling is still depicting a heavy line of showers and

Severe Storms expected in the DC area this afternoon

...- Alex Liggitt

Strong to severe storms are possible this afternoon mainly after 2pm. The main threats will be damaging winds in excess of 60mph and heavy rainfall. A Flash Flood Watch has been issued for the DC Metro until later this evening, rainfall totals of 1 to 2 in

The Need to Heed Severe Thunderstorm Warnings

...- Josh Knight

During Monday's line of thunderstorms, the National Weather Service out of Sterling issued numerous Severe Thunderstorm Warnings across the area. The storms brought down trees from Culpeper through D.C, to Annapolis, and down into Southern Maryland. In Mon

The importance of air quality alerts

...- Josh Knight/ABC7

Hotter days are happening more frequently as we get closer to the start of summer. Often as the mercury rises, the air quality goes down. Monday and Tuesday of this week were Code Orange Air-Quality Alert Days.Bad air can reduce lung capacity by as much as

First heatwave of the year expected to impact the DC area into next week

...- Alex Liggitt

June started off with near-average temperatures and a break in the rainy pattern following the dreariness that WAS the month of May. The next few days will return to cooler than normal temperatures as an upper-level disturbance swings overhead, but big cha

2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook issued by NOAA

...- Alex Liggitt

The 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season begins on June 1st and the National Hurricane Center just issued its prediction today.The forecast calls for 11-17 Named Storms including 5-9 Hurricanes and 2-4 Major Hurricanes (Category 3 or Higher).Remember, the first

Memorial Day Weekend weather forecast for DC and the beaches

...- Alex Liggitt

Memorial Day Weekend lies ahead and many of you have plans to be outside or head to the beaches. This time of year in the DC area and Mid Atlantic is typically a forecast challenge due to the late Spring pattern and this year is no exception.This week has

WET start to the week in the DC area

...- Alex Liggitt

Don’t forget the umbrella and rain jacket at home this week! A series of disturbances will move into the Mid Atlantic starting with a warm frontal boundary tonight into Monday morning. Expect a wet morning commute with rainfall totals tomorrow up to a half

Be prepared: Active start to severe storm season

...- Molly Cochran

Severe weather season has arrived. While severe weather is possible any time of the year, from now through autumn often turns out to be prime season for severe storms across the region. The DMV has had a few rounds of severe storms so far this year. The fi

No weekend wash-out for DC this weekend, High heat returns next week

...- Alex Liggitt

Looking back, 2 of the past 3 weekends have included measurable rainfall with another on the way. Heavy rain made it’s way through the area this morning and continues as moderate rainfall this afternoon, dropping over an inch and a half in parts of the reg

Summertime Heat to Impact D.C.

...- Molly Cochran

After a seasonable start to the work week, an increase in temperatures is expected by the middle to latter half of the week. By Wednesday you might be wishing the pools were already open!An area of high pressure slides off the coast and sends in southerly

More heavy rain is possible for the DC area later this week into the weekend

...- Alex Liggitt

A storm system will bring the potential for very heavy rainfall later this week into the weekend ahead. Upwards of 2 inches of rain will be possible with the heaviest of it expected between Friday morning and midday Saturday.Low pressure over the Southwest

Jupiter in the Night Sky

...- Josh Knight

If you're lucky and the skies clear out where you live, you have a chance to easily spot the largest planet in our solar system!Jupiter will be hanging close by the moon through the night. The moon rose earlier in the day, so by the time it's dark enough t

Weak tornado confirmed in Dahlgren, Virginia

...- Steve Rudin, StormWatch 7

In a preliminary storm report released Friday evening by the local National Weather Service office in Sterling, investigators confirm a small EF-1 tornado touched down near the Navel Support Facility Dahlgren. The tornado traveled a little over one-half mi

Heavy rain expected Friday, cooler weekend ahead

...- Steve Rudin

Love it or hate it, we are about make a nice dent in the rain deficit at Reagan National Airport - considering totals year to date are about three-inches below average. Thanks to a very slow moving area of low pressure, clouds will begin to increase Thursd

Threat for heavy rain and a cooler pattern this weekend into next week for DC

...- Alex Liggitt

After four days in a row at 80 degrees or higher, today has been closer to average with highs in the mid 70s. Gusty winds have filtered in a drier airmass along with dewpoints in the 40s instead of 60s. So what’s to come looking ahead?Cooler stretch on the

Severe Storms Possible in the DC Area today

...- Alex Liggitt

STORMWATCH7 APP | TEXT ALERTSSevere storms will be possible on this Monday as a strong cold front approaches from the west. The biggest threat is for damaging wind gusts and heavy rainfall. An isolated tornado cannot be totally ruled out along with large

La Plata Tornado Anniversary

...- Alex Liggitt

On April 28, 2002, a Moderate Risk for severe weather was placed over the D.C. area by the Storm Prediction Center. Hours later, the region would be struck by one of the strongest tornadoes ever recorded in the Mid Atlantic and the strongest since another

Warmer stretch is here along with a few storm chances into the weekend

...- Alex Liggitt

Much warmer weather will enter the area for the end of the week into the weekend. Instead of temperatures in the 50s and 60s with rain, the DC area will surge into the 80s along with a few storm chances.The pesky cut-off low has finally exited stage right

Rain to start the week, 90s by the weekend?

...- Alex Liggitt

After a very wet start to the work week, sunshine and much warmer weather is expected by the end of the week into the weekend. DC may also experience its first 90 degree day of the year, wrapping up what may be the warmest April on record.Rain is finally e

Soggy Start to the Work Week

...- Josh Knight

Sunday turned out nicer than expected, but I'm afraid that's not in the cards for Monday and Tuesday. Hopefully you're in the mood for some cloudy, cooler, and rainy weather, then you won't be disappointed! This system is essentially a nor'easter, just not

Chances for a weekend washout for the DC area?

...- Alex Liggitt

Rain chances have trended a little differently over the past 48 hours when looking ahead to the weekend. While heavy rain still appears likely, some changes have been noted as to when you can expect it and just how much will fall.GET THE LATEST FORECAST UP

Heading into a Rainy Pattern

...- Josh Knight

While Wednesday was the most gray of the next few days, it is the beginning of a rainy pattern that sticks around through the weekend. Wednesday's cloudy skies and on and off showers can be blamed on our easterly, onshore breeze. This brings in moisture fr

Rain chances, high pollen counts and a look ahead to Earth Day in DC

...- Alex Liggitt

Light rainfall early today helped diminish some of the pollen across the region, which has been in the very high range over the past few days. Pollen counts will continue to surge over the next few weeks as trees continue to bloom across the region, but at

Easter Weekend Weather Outlook for the DC area

...- Alex Liggitt

With a busy weekend ahead with outdoor events and many traveling for Easter, the weather forecast is quite important for your plans. Here’s a quick look at what to expect this weekend into early next week.High pressure is beginning to center off the east c

5 years later: The 2012 Derecho remembered

...- Chief Meteorologist Doug Hill

Five years ago this evening, the worst wind storms in recent memory hit the Washington area. Widespread winds of 70 to 80 mph were reported. The 2012 DERECHO left over 1 million people in the area without power heading into that weekend. The damaging winds