Update – Wednesday 9:15 a.m. – The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch in Montgomery County until 8 p.m. this evening.
The weather service warns a plume of rain is moving through the region today and is expected to drop between one to three inches of rain and has the potential to cause flooding "especially in urban areas."
A radar image taken at 9:13 a.m. showed a large system approaching the Washington, D.C., region stretching from central Pennsylvania in the north to southern Virginia in the south.
Original Report – Tuesday
A strong cold front sweeping into the region is expected to bring heavy rain, possible thunderstorms and strong winds Wednesday, according to a National Weather Service meteorologist.
“We typically get stronger fronts this time of year,” said meteorologist Dan Hofmann. “This is stronger than normal.”
Hoffman said the weather service expects the front to approach Wednesday morning around 3 or 4 a.m. and clear out by 6 p.m. Wednesday evening.
He said during that time the weather service is expecting localized heavy rain, where thunderstorms and strong wind gusts up to 60 mph are possible. Outside of the heavy rain, winds are expected to be between 10 and 20 mph, with gusts up to 30 mph.
Hoffman said rainfall is expected to be about an inch in the Bethesda area, and rainfall could be greater inside areas where isolated thunderstorms hit.