Updates: Scattered thunderstorms in the DC area Sunday afternoon into the evening

Other storms are attempting to develop in the immediate area.

An extremely humid atmosphere, temperatures reaching the mid- to upper 90s, and an approaching cold front are combining to create a severe thunderstorm threat for the DC region today through the late afternoon and evening hours. The National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm watch until 11 p.m.

Partly because the atmosphere is so humid today, with dew points in the mid-70s, many places have a good chance of seeing at least one strong storm. However, some places could fly under the radar, especially those further north and west of the Beltway.

It’s not so certain how many storms will produce damaging wind gusts or large hail, because that depends on whether the sun rose early enough in the afternoon to feed the atmosphere. Places that have at least one storm could see about 0.5 to 1.5 inches of rain, which would be helpful since precipitation is falling more than 3 inches below average since June 1. Other places could see much less rain today.

• Moment: Intermittent scattered thunderstorms from approximately 10:00 p.m.
• Duration: Each individual storm could last up to approximately 45 minutes.
• Possible impacts: Heavy rain, lightning, damaging winds, large hail, isolated flooding, small chance of tornado.
• Trust: Many places have a fair chance of seeing at least one strong storm, but some places could go unnoticed, especially the farther north and west you are from the Beltway. It is not known for sure how many storms will produce damaging wind gusts or large hail, but several could.

“High-resolution forecast models this afternoon show a line of storms moving across Montgomery County, the District and northern Virginia late this afternoon and moving eastward. A second line may develop in the same general region overnight,” said Capital Weather Gang severe weather expert Jeff Halverson. “These lines are activating due to an advancing cold front making its way into a very moist and unstable air mass, which could cause isolated strong or severe wind gusts, a threat of flash flooding and potentially more of a round of storms in some places.”