VA Weather: Heat, Rain, Thunderstorms Ahead Of Easter Weekend

VIRGINIA — Although temperatures in the DC region will be cooler than the 87 degrees expected Wednesday, the upcoming holiday weekend weather forecast looks pretty good with sunshine and no rain forecast on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The only gloomy spot in the Easter weekend forecast for Northern Virginia is that it will be about 25 degrees cooler, especially on Saturday, and wind gusts may be gusty on Friday.

Before we get to the Easter weekend, the region will have another taste of summer with sunshine and temperatures in the mid- to upper-80s for much of Northern Virginia and DC, the National Weather Service said.

Widespread mid- to upper 80s are expected outside areas along the Chesapeake Bay. Some low 90s may be possible across central Virginia, the Baltimore-DC office of the NWS tweeted Wednesday. Some scattered storms are possible mainly west of the Blue Ridge.

"A hot & humid day is in store for the region with the potential for some daily temperature records to be broken! The heat sticks around into Thu before a cold front sweeps through. There will be a risk for severe t'storms, especially on Thu," the NWS tweeted.

Thursday will bring some risk of hail, downpours and damaging wind gusts as energy shifts eastward to the southern flank of the Interstate 95 corridor and the Carolinas, AccuWeather.com said. "The strongest thunderstorms that can develop Thursday could potentially bring damaging wind gusts of up to ... 70 mph."

Locations in eastern Virginia and southern New Jersey could see strong to severe storms develop through the evening hours on Thursday, AccuWeather predicts.

Once the rain showers, and possibly a thunderstorm conclude late Thursday, that is when the sunny and dry weather takes over through Easter Sunday.

Here is the forecast for Northern Virginia via the National Weather Service:

Wednesday: Increasing clouds, with a high near 87. Light southeast wind becoming south 10 to 15 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 23 mph.

Wednesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 70. South wind 9 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.

Thursday: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm, mainly after 3pm. High near 86. Southwest wind 8 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Thursday Night: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm before 9pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 9pm and 3am, then a slight chance of showers after 3am. Low around 53. North wind 11 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Friday: A slight chance of showers before 3pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 62. North wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Friday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 46.

Saturday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 57.

Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 41.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 61.

Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 42.

Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 65.