A flood watch is in effect for the D.C. region until 11 a.m. Wednesday after the National Weather Service issued it at 4 a.m. as a warm front moved back into the area. Heavy rain and localized flooding are possible this morning, and flash flooding remains possible for the rest of Wednesday morning.
The timing matters because the alert reaches straight into the commute period, when rain can pool fast on low-lying roads and in poor drainage areas. Those spots are most vulnerable when downpours outpace runoff, and the risk is higher now because heavy rain in the predawn hours has already saturated the ground.
Veronica Johnson warned that strong thunderstorms are possible after 5 p.m., which gives the day a second round of trouble after the morning rain eases. Rain is expected to diminish before noon, but that does not clear the threat right away; enough water is already on the ground that brief bursts can still trigger flooding before lunchtime.
The afternoon should turn warmer, with temperatures reaching the low to upper 80s if the clouds break. That shift is part of a broader unsettled weather pattern expected to last through the rest of the week, keeping the D.C. region in and out of showers and thunderstorms.
Thursday is expected to be partly cloudy and hotter, with highs between 89 and 93 degrees. Friday brings another hot and humid day with highs in the upper 80s to mid-90s, along with a chance of pop-up afternoon thunderstorms. Saturday stays hot and humid too, with afternoon storms and highs in the low to mid 90s. The immediate question is not whether the pattern changes — it does not — but how much more rain Wednesday can squeeze out before the ground starts to drain.
