The District of Columbia woke up Monday under a blanket of gray skies and a wind that cut straight through a coat, the kind of morning that reminds folks the season is shifting for real — and with changing weather comes concerns, not only about chilly temperatures, but health.
“Since it’s been getting cold, I’ve been getting sick,” one person wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
According to The Weather Company, The District sat at 45 degrees with clouds hanging low, and the first half of the week brings more of the same. Temperatures settle mostly in the low and mid-50s through Thursday before climbing toward the mid-60s as the weekend approaches.
But the wind forecast is the kind that carries warnings. Gusts and dry air have created a high fire threat, The Weather Company reports, and the region sits in that uneasy balance between cool air, fast breezes, and ground cover that has gone crisp.
By Tuesday, clouds are expected to thicken, and a little rain may slip in by the afternoon. Wednesday and Thursday should bring steady cloud cover, and then Friday through Sunday warm the area back into the 60s with only scattered chances of showers.
However, the weather is only half the story this week. The flu outlook across the District and its neighboring states is beginning to take shape, and right now officials say the region is holding steady. The Weather Company lists the flu risk as “very low” on its cold and flu tracker.
“In the United States, flu season usually occurs in the fall and winter,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “While influenza viruses spread year-round, most of the time flu activity peaks between December and February.”
The D.C. health department notes that individual adult influenza cases are not required to be reported in the District, though outbreaks and pediatric flu deaths must be reported.
The relative quiet in the data gives a small measure of breathing room as residents head deeper into the colder months. Still, the wider picture comes with caution.
Axios reported that health experts are watching a newly circulating H3N2 flu strain that surfaced over the summer, and with winter forecast to run colder than usual across the Mid-Atlantic, Maryland and Virginia could see higher risk as families spend more time indoors.
Currently, Maryland and Virginia are also categorized as low-risk areas, according to current regional assessments, but low-risk readings can shift quickly once temperatures drop and indoor gatherings increase.
Weather officials said the ingredients are already on the table and include dry air, colder evenings, a community of commuters moving between crowded trains, offices, schools, and holiday events.
Additionally, forecasters say that, as humidity levels fall, airways dry out, and people inch a little closer together, and that is when flu activity often picks up, even after a calm start.
For now, the message remains to keep hands clean, remain home when sick, and make sure elders, children, and those with chronic conditions are protected.
Further, the CDC encourages people to take the yearly flu vaccine in order to reduce the risk of getting the flu “and its potentially serious outcomes.”“Flu vaccines help to reduce the burden of flu illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths on the health care system each year,” according to the CDC. “Flu vaccination also has been shown to reduce the severity of illness in people who get vaccinated but still get sick.”