Remember last June’s derecho—the powerful series of thunderstorms that ravaged the mid-Atlantic and left 1.2 million homes in the D.C. metro region without power? Well, another one might be on the way. A line of storms will head in our direction from the Midwest this afternoon and evening, possibly resulting in the formation of a derecho.

Bill Bunting, an operations chief at the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center, told the AP that the storm won’t be as strong as last year’s derecho, but that intense heat and widespread power outages are likely. The District’s risk of severe weather is 15 times greater than on a normal June day, he said, though the risk for cities like Chicago and Indianapolis is 45 times higher. According to Bunting, this threat is “pretty high.”

For now, our skies are clear, but the storm could arrive as early as this afternoon, with ugly weather continuing through Thursday. It probably wouldn’t hurt to charge your phone and stock up on some bread in case parts of the city lose power. Regrettably, the second edition of Port City’s Derecho Common lager, inspired by last summer’s storm, will not be available for porch-sipping—its rerelease is scheduled for June 29.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery