Community Corner

First Day of Fall: Expect Mid-70s, a Little Rain in Northern Virginia and DC

What to expect on Sept. 22, the first day of fall. Plus a three-month outlook from the National Weather Service and early winter predictions for the region.

By Raytevia Evans

Summer is quickly getting away from us and the first day of fall — Sept. 22 — is knocking on our front doors. 

For the past week, the northern Virginia and D.C. areas have experienced beautiful weather, and according to the National Weather Service in Sterling, there's a good chance the nice weather will continue throughout the first week of fall.

"We're looking at highs at mid- to upper 70s [in northern Virginia] and DC in the upper 70s," said Heather Sheffield, a meteorologist with NWS.

Sheffield said the region will experience near average conditions this weekend, except for a cold front moving in Saturday which is expected to bring light rain. Otherwise, the first week of fall will be made up of daily temperatures in the mid-70s.

NBC4's meteorologist Chuck Bell said we'll definitely have a lot more dry weather once the storm off the coast moves along.

Predictions through December 2013

For the month of October, NWS expects temperatures in the region to be fairly normal — not above or below average for this time of year for DC and northern Virginia.

The NWS headquarters in Silver Spring, Md., specifically compiles information about precipitation and temperatures as far as three months in advance. According to the three-month outlook for October, November and December, the temperatures will be above average in the region as well as up through New York and New England.

Bell said the region has not been directly affected by any major storms during hurricane season, but we still have until the end of November until the season is over.

"We're not quite out of hurricane season, so there's a chance we may see one or two tropical storms that can bring some rain," he said.

Early Winter Prediction

Although it's quite early for winter predictions for the region, Bell explained that it wouldn't be a complete surprise if northern Virginia sees quite a bit of snowfall in the second half of the winter season.

"Based on the outlook and on history, we could definitely be looking at what may seem like a harsh winter," Bell said. "We haven't seen much snowfall in the region for the past few years, so whether we get 12 to 15 inches or 18 to 20 inches, it will seem like a lot because we haven't had significant snowfall since February 2010."

If weather patterns continue as predicted, we're definitely in for a gorgeous fall season, but let's keep our fingers crossed that a harsh winter won't soon follow.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here