D.C.-area forecast: Historic heat wave culminates with storms later today

• Today: Still very hot and humid, scattered p.m. storms likely. Highs: Mid-90s to near 100.
• Tonight: Scattered evening storms possible. Lows: Low to mid-70s.
• Tomorrow: Partly sunny, not as hot. Isolated storm? Highs: Mid-80s to near 90.

We’ve got one more day today of this ridiculous heat, though maybe not as ridiculous as the past few days, before a stretch of more tolerable July warmth tomorrow into the weekend. The cold front ushering in the end of this historic heat wave will probably touch off scattered strong to severe storms this afternoon into the evening. Rain chances are lower Thursday and Friday, and then more uncertain this weekend.

Today (Wednesday): Plenty of morning sunshine, but increasing afternoon clouds and developing storms should cap highs lower than the past few days. Most spots should still reach the mid-90s to near 100, and with continued high humidity the heat index peaks near or above 105. As a cold front approaches, scattered showers and thunderstorms are likely during the afternoon into evening. Some could be strong to severe with damaging winds and flooding. Confidence: Medium-High

Tonight: Scattered showers and storms remain possible during the evening, with lower chances overnight. Lows settle in the low to mid-70s with partly to mostly cloudy skies. Confidence: Medium

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Tomorrow (Thursday): The front should advance far enough to our south to allow drier air to move in from the north. Along with the decreasing humidity, we’re looking at partly sunny skies and noticeably cooler highs in the mid-80s to near 90. Can’t rule out an isolated shower or storm, especially south and east of D.C. Confidence: Medium-High

Tomorrow night: Partly cloudy, not too muggy and a bit cooler than recent nights with lows in the mid-60s to low 70s. Confidence: High

A rather run-of-the-mill summer Friday, and that’s just fine by us. With the front off to our south, we’re partly sunny with tolerable humidity as afternoon highs head for the mid-80s to near 90. The humidity may start trending higher again Friday night with lows in the upper 60s to low 70s. Confidence: Medium-High

The weekend isn’t a terribly confident forecast, because it’s uncertain if the front to our south will come back north toward us. If it does, that would bring a chance of showers and storms back into the forecast. Either way, the humidity is probably more noticeable again with Saturday highs in the upper 80s to near 90, and Sunday highs near 90 to the low 90s. Confidence: Low-Medium