We are still in a water deficit particularly south of the metro area, and a soggy weather pattern will bring some beneficial rain Thursday evening through Saturday afternoon.  I consider this a "healthy" weather pattern considering our deficits as a couple inches of rain is possible over the span of 54 hours.  By the way, if you'd like to check out the latest Drought Monitor, here is the link:

http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html   (click on the map to zoom into your region)

I know not everybody is excited about a few rainy days especially after the dreary start to this work week, but I think the result will be worth the disappointment.  As of now, the computer models are indicating at least 2 inches of rain between Thursday evening and Saturday afternoon, and some higher accumulations are possible within embedded thunderstorms.  Spring is the time of year for our region to not only catch-up, but even try to get ahead of the curve in terms of precipitation.  Our "normal" summertime weather pattern is often conducive for quick, isolated thunderstorms (with some exceptions, of course) but not the widespread, light and prolonged rain events, which are more typical in the Spring. 

As a matter of fact, tropical systems and the remnants of tropical storms and hurricanes are often what we look for to bring prolonged rainfall to the DC area in the Summer.  Normally, a semi-permanent high pressure system called the "Bermuda High" dominates our mid-summer weather pattern brining the hot and humid afternoons with just isolated storms, or what we like to call, "pop-up" thunderstorms, which don't provide widespread showers. 

Adam Caskey