The August 2011 earthquake in Washington caused significant damage to the Washington Monument and has been closed to the public, as repairs are being done. 

If you've been around town, you've likely seen the scaffolding growing up the side of the monument, as crews work hard to make sure the structual integrity of the monument is up to standard.  This process has been going on since March 2013.  Take a minute to watch this incredible timelapse over the past 54 days of the rising scaffolding and the changing weather over the two month period.  Incredible!

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The weather pattern across the D.C. area, and much of the East Coast, has been plagued by this pesky upper level low the couple of days.  Clouds, showers, and muggy conditions.  Today the metro region finally broke out into some sunshine, but with unstable conditions, heavy showers and thunderstorms developed.  Even though there was some very heavy rain and even reports of small hail, these storms did give way to some neat looking skies.  Check out this timelapse from the WeatherBug camera on top of our ABC7 studios in Arlington.

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After an absolutely gorgeous first weekend of May, the start of the work week weather took a turn in the opposite direction.  Unfortunately, for those of you not a fan of the grey skies and showers, this weather pattern is here to stay... at least for a good chunk of the work week.  So why the unsettled weather?  Let's explore.

Check out yesterday's satellite image.  Notice the big "swirl" from space.

GOES

I went ahead and drew the features that are present from this system.  The 'L' represents the area of low pressure that is spinning, counterclockwise, over the southeast US.  The blue arrows indicate the onshore, or easterly, flow bringing in Atlantic moisture to the mid-Atlantic.  Air circulates around the low in this counterclockwise fashion.

The low will track northeast over the coming days, but will be slow to do so.  Take a look at the upper level low from about 18,000 ft (500mb).  This is a simulation of where the low will be later this afternoon. 

NCEP

As the low tracks northeast, cloudy and damp weather will persist across the region.  It won't be a complete washout each day this week, but scattered showers will be possible through at least Thursday.  Check out the Weather Prediction Center's quantitative precipitation forecast through Thursday evening.  This forecast shows between 1 and 2 inches of rain over our region, with locally higher amounts over southwestern VA.

WPC

With moderate rain possible over an extended period of time, the National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for parts of the Shenandoah valley through late tonight.  Remember, if you encounter standing water, never drive through it. The latest Flood Watch was extended north into Clarke, Frederick (VA), Hampshire and Mineral Counties as well.

By late Thursday, the low weakens its grip and gets caught back in the overall pattern.  Compare the 500mb heights in this forecast (below) for Thursday night to the same map shown above.  Notice there is a slight dip in the wave pattern, but nothing cut-off (like in the similar image a few graphics up). 

NCEP

For us, this means a less unsettled weather pattern.... sort of, for Friday at least. High temperatures will climb to near 80 degrees by the end of the week, which could initiate a few airmass thunderstorms to develop, but nothing widespread.  A cold front will then slide through this weekend bringing continued chances for showers but drier and slightly cooler air can be expected for early next week. 

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