A Severe Thunderstorm Watch has been issued for Arlington, Falls Church and much of the D.C. area.
The watch, issued at 1:25 p.m., is in effect until 8 p.m. tonight. Widespread wind gusts up to 70 mph are likely in any storms, along with isolated hail up to a half inch and possibly a couple of tornadoes, according to the National Weather Service.
The timing lines up with the evening commute. The chance of storms climbs from around 35% at 5 p.m. to 80% by 6 p.m., according to the NWS hourly forecast, with showers lingering into the night.
The storms are expected to form along a strong cold front. The Storm Prediction Center has much of the region east of the Blue Ridge and north of Route 50 and I-66 at a Slight Risk (level 2 of 5) of severe weather, driven mainly by the threat of damaging winds, according to the NWS forecast discussion.
It’s the first Severe Thunderstorm Watch for Arlington since Sept. 4.
Behind the front, temperatures will drop by 25-30 degrees. Today’s high near 83 gives way to a high near 54 tomorrow (Saturday), with north winds gusting as high as 29 mph during the planned “No Kings” marches across Arlington. Saturday night’s low is forecast around 38, and frost or freeze alerts are likely early Sunday, mainly west of I-95, forecasters said.
More from the National Weather Service:
A severe thunderstorm watch has been issued for parts of District of Columbia, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia until 8 PM EDT pic.twitter.com/ia6prv4vkL
— NWS Baltimore-Washington (@NWS_BaltWash) October 16, 2026
