Northern Virginia Weather: Weekend Scorcher Expected

STERLING, VA—Here's your go-to phrase for the weekend weather forecast in the Northern Virginia area: "scorching heat." As weird as that sounds in the middle of May, that nonetheless is the general opinion of the National Weather Service and other area forecasting outlets.

Want another phrase? Try "peachy hot." Big-time heat is expected to arrive with plenty of sunshine both Saturday and Sunday, with slight chances of rain. And Sunday, there's this jarring prediction from the Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang: "We may even top our hottest average July temperature of 89 degrees . . . with our region’s high temperatures ranging in the upper 80s to low 90s."

So there you go. Here's the detailed forecast from the National Weather Service's area outpost in Sterling:

Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 82. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming light and variable.

Saturday Night: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 65. South wind 3 to 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Sunday: A slight chance of showers, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 87. Calm wind becoming south 5 to 9 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Sunday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 8pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 70. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Monday: A chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 85. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 60.

Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 74.

Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 58.

Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 77.

Wednesday Night: A chance of showers. Partly cloudy, with a low around 64. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 84.

Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 64.

Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 83.