The heaviest rain is moving out of the D.C. area as residents brace for potential flooding Tuesday after a recent stretch of dry weather.

And the forecast calls for another round of storms later in the day.

• Flood warning for parts of Maryland until 11:30 a.m.
• Flood watch for most of the region lasts until 2 p.m.
• Flood threat lingers until the afternoon.
• Risk of evening storms

The National Weather Service issued a flood watch for most of the D.C. region until 2 p.m.

A flood warning was also issued for parts of central Maryland and north central Maryland until 11:30 a.m. Some of the counties impacted include Howard, Montgomery, Carroll and Frederick. During a warning, flooding is imminent or occurring.

As rain continues to move Northeast, StormTeam4 Meteorologist Chad Merrill said flash flooding is likely in some areas north of the District on Tuesday morning.

“There will be short-term rises on streams and creeks, but we are not seeing a risk so far this morning for any river flooding,” Merrill said. “Most of this is likely due to the recent dry stretch of weather.”

But the steady rain should wrap up by 11 a.m.

Merrill said drivers should watch for pockets of water on roadways.

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Temperatures will rise to the mid 80s as the day goes on.

Low pressure pushing across the region is responsible for spouts of heavy rain, Merrill said.

The showers and storms were expected to drop up to 3 inches of rain, with some isolated areas receiving 4 inches. By 6 a.m., 2 inches had already fallen in some areas.

By the afternoon, there should be some sunshine peaking through the clouds.

Tuesday evening could bring more challenges to commuters — scattered thunderstorms re expected.

The wet weather should wrap up Tuesday night, but return on Wednesday as a front from Pennsylvania pushes south toward the District. Flooding isn’t expected though, Merrill said.

Dry weather returns Thursday and it should be comfortable through Saturday.

Rain totals

Rainfall reports across the region as of around 6 a.m., according to Merrill:

• Leesburg in Loudoun County, Virginia: 2.16 inches
• Ijamsville in Frederick County, Maryland: 2.04 inches
• Gaithersburg in Montgomery County, Maryland: 1.84 inches
• Germantown in Montgomery County, Maryland: 1.72 inches
• Sykesville in Carroll County, Maryland: 1.32 inches
• D.C.: 0.22-0.39 inches

The weather in context

The rain comes after a dry stretch of weather in August.

Rain totals in August were 0.83 inches below average coming in at 2.42 inches, while the average is 3.25 inches at Reagan National. Totals were far below last year which ranked as the fourth wettest August on record with 9.07 inches.

But its been weeks since the last time the region had significant rainfall, Merrill told WTOP. The most recent appreciable rain in D.C. (with more than half an inch) was on Aug. 10 with just 0.52 inch.

Since Aug. 15, things have been pretty dry.

The risk for flooding is often determined by what the weather is like before the rain, particularly this time of year, Merrill said.

“If we would have seen a super wet August, especially focused during the month’s second half, then widespread flooding would likely be occurring across the region here this morning,” Merrill said.

The wettest month of the year on average in D.C. is July, followed by June, May and September. September ranks just 0.01 inch below May’s average rainfall of 3.94 inches.

Though it’s been relatively dry in recent weeks, Merrill said this past July was the 13th wettest in D.C. since 1870 with 7.61 inches.

Forecast

Tuesday: Cloudy with heavy showers. Flooding possible. Highs: Low 80s.

Wednesday: Early showers, then mostly cloudy. Highs: Upper 80s.

Thursday: Partly sunny. Highs: Around 80.

Friday: Mostly sunny. Low humidity. Highs: Low 80s.

Current weather

The rapid decline in the use of cash during the pandemic has eased as consumers return to their preferred method of paying for things, a report suggests.

Many people were forced into trying alternative ways of spending owing to Covid restrictions, banking trade body UK Finance said.

But it added that their preferred method had not changed radically.

Cash use is still forecast to drop, accounting for 6% of payments by 2031.

“Rather than the UK becoming a cash-free society over the next decade, the UK will transition to an economy where cash is less important than it once was but remains valued and preferred by many,” the report said.

Covid impact

The trend of the last decade has been the significant rise in the prevalence of card – and particularly contactless – payments. Debit or credit cards were used in 57% of all payments in the UK last year.

In comparison, the use of notes and coins has dropped from 55% of payments in 2011 to 15% last year.

During the pandemic, the number of payments made in total fell. In particular, cash use slumped during lockdowns and as retailers encouraged friction-free payments.

Now, the UK Finance report suggests that long-term trends will continue as if there has been no pandemic impact.

While 42% of consumers only made one transaction or fewer in cash each month, Adrian Buckle, head of research at UK Finance, said that many people were returning to their first preference when paying.

“Payment trends generally tend to change slowly, as we all form habits about the way we pay for things and these don’t change easily,” he said.

Natalie Ceeney, who leads work into access to cash, said: “It’s now widely recognised that those who rely on cash tend to be older, poorer or more vulnerable, many of whom simply can’t ‘go digital’.

“I’m really pleased that, after many years of campaigning on the issue, the industry is working hard to put in solutions and we should finally have legislation to protect access to cash in the next few months.”

Budgets squeezed

Another factor in the use of cash is the rising cost of living.

Mr Buckle said cash became slightly more popular during the financial crisis at the start of the last decade but, like then, it had relatively little impact on the longer term decline.

The Post Office recently reported that its counters handled £801m in personal cash withdrawals in July, the most since records began five years ago.

It said customers’ use of cash to budget and the popularity of staycations were behind the increase.

In May, Salford University student Kira Hayward told the BBC that she turned to social media for inspiration to help her cope with rising costs by taking cash out of her bank account.

She puts it in different labelled envelopes to ensure she has money for food and bills.

“I went on Instagram and YouTube and I saw these physical budget binders,” she said. “I take the money out of the bank and I budget for things like my shopping. If I know I have £80 in my personal shopping for the month I know I can’t go over that.”

However, the UK Finance report suggested that young people were becoming adept at budgeting using smartphone apps and were keeping a keen eye on their bank balance digitally.

Mr Buckle said they would log into accounts several times a day. Instead of using cash to budget, many would consider any cash withdrawals as money already “spent” as it had already reduced the bank balance they saw on the screen.

The report also questioned the assumption that younger people were more reliant than others on Buy Now, Pay Later products. The trade body’s limited research suggested about one in eight people had used these services, but they were most likely to be aged between 35 and 44.

Natural gas reserves will last less than three months if Russia cuts off supply, the regulator said

Germany’s energy regulator has warned that the nation will struggle to have enough natural gas to get through the coming winter, even if reserves are topped up in line with government targets, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.

The Federal Network Agency says natural gas storage sites are currently 77% full, which is two weeks ahead of schedule. However, according to the regulator, the target of being 85% full by October could be challenging, taking into account the risk of a cooler-than-normal autumn and the chance of further supply disruptions.

It further noted that the November target of 95% seems “hard to achieve” because some storage sites require more time to fill. Even if that target is reached it would cover less than three months of heating, industrial and power demand in case Russia cuts off gas supplies completely, the FNA warned.

“I cannot promise you that all storage facilities in Germany will be 95% full in November, even under good supply and demand conditions,” said FNA president Klaus Mueller. “In the best-case scenario, three-fourths of them will meet the target.”

The German government, which has been racing to fill its winter stocks, has also urged businesses and citizens to lower consumption, warned of energy rationing and this week slapped a levy on gas use.