 Cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin on March 21. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post) | Today's daily digit A somewhat subjective rating of the day's weather, on a scale of zero to 10. 4/10: Chilly early morning part, but sunshine tries to give spring a jump-start. Express forecast - Today: Sunny. Highs: 45-50.
- Tonight: Cloudy, light rain or mix late. Lows: 30-39.
- Tomorrow: Cloudy. Highs: 55-60.
Forecast in detail Winter and spring continue their battle for dominance over the Washington area with significant swings in temperatures to keep the weather forecasters busy. We still need coats today, but more prevalent sunshine and gradually increasing temperatures ease the chill. Temperatures edge closer to normal Wednesday, with a big surge of warmth by Thursday that brings the chance for showers and thunderstorms. Temperatures return close to normal by this weekend, with a chance of showers by Sunday. Today (Tuesday): Sunny and marginally warmer, with highs from the mid-40s to around 50. Breezes are still from the colder northwest direction at around 10 mph, but much gentler than Monday. Confidence: High Tonight: Increasing clouds with a chance of light rain or showers late. A brief period of sleet or wet snow is possible north and west of the city. Lows range through the 30s. Winds are light. Confidence: Medium Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the latest weather updates. Keep reading for the forecast through the weekend. Tomorrow (Wednesday): Mostly cloudy and trending warmer with highs in the 50s to near 60. Winds shift to come from the south at 10 to 20 mph. Confidence: Medium Tomorrow night: Temperatures hold steady or only drift slightly down into the 50s overnight. Confidence: Medium A look ahead Thursday completely flips the early week script with temperatures well into the 70s under partly to mostly cloudy skies. Scattered showers and thunderstorms are expected in the afternoon into the evening. Some of the later-day storm activity could be strong to severe, with heavy downpours and damaging gusts. Showers should end by or before midnight, with cloudy skies and temperatures cooling to the upper 40s to low 50s by early Friday. Confidence: Medium Friday features mixed sky conditions thanks to a high-altitude disturbance moving overhead. We could even see a light shower as highs reach the low 60s amid breezy conditions. Friday night should be mostly clear with colder lows ranging through the 30s to low 40s. Confidence: Medium The first weekend of April starts off fairly pleasant with a sunny Saturday as highs hit the upper 50s to low 60s. Partly cloudy and cool Saturday night with lows in the 40s in the city with some 30s in the outer suburbs again. Sunday is more unsettled as a disturbance rolls through with clouds and light shower chances, especially by afternoon. Highs range from the upper 50s to around 60. Confidence: Medium | 
