TODAY’S DAILY DIGIT A somewhat subjective rating of the day’s weather, on a scale of 0 to 10.  6/10: Quite cloudy and cool. Sometimes breezy. Mostly passable.  Today: Mostly to partly cloudy. Highs: 43-47. | Tonight: Partly cloudy. Lows: Near 30 to mid-30s. | Sunday: Partly to mostly sunny. Highs: Low-to-mid 50s.  If the wintry barrage of this past week was too much and too soon, take comfort. Some sweet relaxation of the cold pattern is ahead for the next few days. Today’s our last in the below normal category through Monday. The next cold shot doesn’t appear long lived, but it may be timed with a bit of precipitation. That combo potentially leads to some sort of nuisance event centered on Tuesday.  Today (Saturday): The themes of the day are cool and clouds. It may be book-ended by flurries or light sprinkle risks. The best odds for such are in the early morning (flurries) and again perhaps in the afternoon (rain drops). If anything falls, it doesn’t amount to anything. Highs mostly reach the mid-40s across the region, and winds are from the south around 5-10 mph. Clouds may become few by evening if we’re lucky. Confidence: Medium-High  SNOW POTENTIAL INDEX A daily assessment of the potential for at least ~1″ of snow in the next week, on a 0-10 scale.  1/10 (→): Moisture riding a cold front in the Monday night through Tuesday night time frame is worth glancing at.  Tonight: A warmer flow of air persists as winds continue to blow in from the south and southwest overnight. We should see partly cloudy skies, but despite the removal of the cloud blanket temperatures don’t fall off too heavily. Many places settle near or just above freezing, with warm spots like downtown perhaps in the 35-37 range. Confidence: Medium-High  For related traffic news, check out Dr. Gridlock. Keep reading for the forecast through the weekend…  Tomorrow (Sunday): This is certainly the pick of the weekend. Temperatures just a little above normal for afternoon highs should feel kind of warm after a few colder days. Add in partly sunny or clearer skies and it’s a great one for a stroll around the neighborhood or other outdoor activities. Highs reach the low-to-mid 50s, as winds continue to blow from the south and southwest around 5-10 mph. Confidence: Medium-High  Tomorrow night: Warmer air is well entrenched at this point, and a bit higher surface moisture helps keep overnight lows mild as well. Under partly cloudy skies, readings generally dip to the near 40 to mid-40s range. Almost tropical. Confidence: Medium-High  A cold front sags toward the area from the northwest on Monday. We start off with partly to mostly sunny skies, but trend cloudier as the day goes. There could even be some showers around the area by late afternoon or early evening. Not before temperatures make a run toward and past 60 though. Get out the shorts? Confidence: Medium-High  The risk of light rain or snow may increase as soon as Monday night as the front very slowly pushes south. Temperatures are marginal for wintry precipitation, but with lows in the upper 20s to lower 30s, it’s worth an eye for now. A light event regardless of precip type. Confidence: Medium  The front stays hung up to the south on Tuesday, and light rain or mixed precipitation may continue to move along it at times. It’s hard to say exactly where or exactly what at this point. Daytime temperatures are likely to get into mid-30s to near 40. So if any wintry mix is around, the concerns are presently rather minimal when it comes to causing issues. Confidence: Medium  Ian Livingston is a forecaster/photographer and information lead for the Capital Weather Gang. By day, Ian is a defense and national security researcher at a D.C. think tank.
We climb out of the cold and into the cool today before heading legitimately warmer on Sunday. The next cold front lurks behind Monday's warmth though.