Northern Virginia Weekend Weather: A Mixed Bag

STERLING, VA — Here's the good news for this two-faced specter otherwise known as the weather: Sunday is expected to be mostly sunny with highs in the low 70s — pretty darn good for Mother's Day. The bad news? Friday night and Saturday look to be utter washouts, according to the area arm of the National Weather Service.

Rain is expected to begin Friday shortly after 2 p.m. and not stop until late Saturday. The chance of precipitation is nearly 100 percent through that span. Sunday, however, presents a well-timed clearing as the sun finally breaks through — albeit with occasional wind gusts of up to 24 mph or so.

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Here's the latest forecast from the National Weather Service outpost in Sterling:

Today: Rain, mainly after 2pm. High near 58. East wind around 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Tonight: Rain. Low around 50. East wind around 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.

Saturday: Rain, mainly before 5pm. High near 57. North wind around 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Saturday Night: A chance of rain before 8pm. Cloudy, then gradually becoming partly cloudy, with a low around 49. Northwest wind 6 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Sunday: A slight chance of showers after 2pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 73. Northwest wind 7 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 52.

Monday: Sunny, with a high near 72.

Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 53.

Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 79.

Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 61.

Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 87.

Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 68.

Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 88.

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