Some of us -- but not necessarily all of us -- are in for some heavy rain this afternoon.
The D.C. metro area remains stuck in a weather pattern that's producing scattered late rainstorms, some quite heavy, said Storm Team4 Meteorologist Amelia Segal.
"If you are under it, it's a downpour," Segal said.
The possibility of scattered but intense afternoon rain was part of the reason the National Weather Service issued a flash flood watch for the D.C. area from 6 p.m. Sunday night until 2 a.m. Tuesday morning.
The other reason is the amount of rain the region has already seen in June, which is currently the 4th-wettest on record. The D.C. area has had a couple of tough Junes; on June 29, 2012 at least 13 people died in a violent line of storms known as a derecho.
But how much rain you'll see this Sunday, Monday and into Tuesday depends on where you are. The humid weather pattern that's locked in place over the D.C. metro area is "unstable and prone to storminess," Segal said -- so at any point any part of the region might get some localized rain.
"As the southwest has had its excessive heat, we are stuck in this pattern of mostly dry mornings and afternoon thunderstorms," Segal said.
As for the Fourth of July on Thursday: Segal said we'll still be in the same weather pattern, but it may not be as wet. "It still could be a dry start with a 30% chance of afternoon thunderstorms," Segal said.
But the good news is that the threat of thunderstorms lessens after the sun goes down -- just in time for fireworks.
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