Good Morning: Leave Your Umbrella at Home Today

Replacing yesterday's rain is today's winds. Breezy, windy and all that: We'll see winds from the west blowing at between 14 and 19 miles per hour. The high will be about 61 degrees today.

The strongest wind ever recorded was in a F5 tornado in Oklahoma City in 1999: 318 miles per hour. That'll ruin your umbrella --and everything else-- quickly. The highest non-tornadic wind ever recorded happened in 1934 on the top of Mt. Washington in New Hampshire: 231 miles per hour.

Good News: By the Time of the Colbert-Stewart Rallies the Rain Will Have Stopped

Tell your friends: By the time of the Colbert-Stewart dueling rallies on October 30th, the rain will have stopped.  Not only that, but if your friends are in New York City, the Huffington Post will be providing free bus transportation to and from the rally. (Or just one way if they fall in love with DC and want to stay.)

TBD reports that many area hotels are already booked up. Personally, we're expecting between 6 to 10 house guests that weekend.

Fingers are crossed for a sunny Halloween weekend. But between Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart and Arianna Huffington, they've got enough influence to ensure perfect weather.

And speaking of perfect weather, the rain will all be over by Friday. Between now and then watch out for flooding. The storm is going to bring a lot of rain. If you need it, the number to report an electrical outage to Pepco is 877-737-2662.

Heavy Weather on the Way: Get Your Free Sandbags Now

Batten down the hatches: What's left of tropical storm Nicole is going to hit the Washington, DC area. Overnight and through around 5pm Thursday, we can expect between 1 and 4 inches of rain, according to the Capital Weather Gang.

Flooding, a few power outages, and getting bonked in the head by somebody else's umbrella are all possible.

Tropical storm Nicole, which will be tropical Mess by the time it reaches us, originated over Cuba, and passed by southern Florida on its way to the DC area.

The DC Department of Public Works will be distributing up to five sandbags per household to District residents beginning 4 pm today, Wednesday, at its New Jersey Avenue and K Street, SE site. The entrance is on New Jersey at I Street, SE. DPW will have employees and signage directing residents to the site entrance.

The sandbags weigh between 40 lbs. and 50 lbs. Residents will need to load them into their vehicles; however, assistance will be provided if needed. Sandbags will be distributed until the inventory is depleted.

The Zen of a Good Parking Space

Photo by Bill Adler

A parking space on Macomb Street, NW in the District of Columbia.

Earl's Not Coming to DC. Are You Sad?

Hurricane Earl won't be affecting the District this weekend.  If you want a windy Labor Day weekend, if you enjoy storms, you'll have to go to the beach.  Oh, wait.  They're evacuating parts of the coast.  Never mind about that.

In place of Earl we'll be getting milder temperatures Saturday, Sunday and Monday -- in the neighborhood of the upper 70's to lower 80's.  Sunny and mostly clear skies, so wear sunscreen or you'll end up feeling like that burger you're grilling. 

Hurricane season is far from over and more storms are brewing in the Atlantic.  There's still a chance that we'll be adding "hurricane days" to the "snow days" we had this past winter and "power outage" days we had this summer. 

Get Your Free Sandbags Before the Next Deluge

With heavy rain forecast for tonight and tomorrow, and flooding possible (again), the DC Department of Public Works is offering free sand bags to District residents.

District residents may pick up sandbags (up to four per household) at its New Jersey Avenue and K Street, SE site (entrance on New Jersey at I Street, SE).   The sandbags will be available today between noon and midnight.

The sandbags weigh between 40 and 50 pounds, and residents will need to load them into their vehicles.   DPW will have employees and signage directing residents to the site entrance.

For more information, visit DPW's website.

I bet you just can't wait till hurricane season ramps up and the storms really start.