Ringing in the new year could involve some wringing out.
Friday’s rain totals – up to 2 inches could fall – will add to a record-setting year for total precipitation in the area.
The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch until 1 a.m. Saturday and the Montgomery County fire and rescue service has posted a reminder to drivers to be alert for flooding on roads and to avoid standing water.
Showers, some with heavy downpours, are expected to continue after sunset, and temperatures will be unseasonably mild, according to the National Weather Service.
With soil already saturated, the National Weather Service said rain will run off quickly into streams and tributaries, heightening the chance for flooding.
The weather service said the Interstate 95 corridor, from Florida into New England, is expected to get the heaviest rain today and tonight.
While the sun is expected this weekend, showers will return Monday and Tuesday, according to forecast models.
It has been a soggy year: More than 65 inches of rain has fallen in the region this year, topping 61.33 inches measured in 1889, according to weather service data. And rain has invaded about half of the weekends in the Washington area this year, forecasters said.
At Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, more than 70 inches of precipitation has been recorded this year.
