Update: We're not out of this mess yet. The National Weather Service says the low pressure system that's coming ashore in the Carolinas this afternoon could drop another 3 to 5 inches of rain across Central Maryland tonight. Worse, some locations could see new accumulations of up to 8 inches. I feel like I'm writing a snow forecast.

But this is rain we're talking about. This new system nearly developed into the season's second named tropical storm. Top sustained winds at 5,000 feet are blowing at 55 knots (63 mph, well within tropical storm force). But hurricane hunter aircraft have been flying around inside the storm this afternoon and have not been able to find circulation around a defined storm center. So they're not calling it a tropical storm.

But it doesn't really matter. If the forecast holds up, the storm's impact will be the rain it adds to the mess we're already grappling with. These additional tropical rains will merge with the surge of wet, tropical air that's been blowing northward from the Atlantic since late last week. That's already dropped 4 to 12 inches of rain across the region. Add to that another 3 to 5 inches - all of it due overnight tonight. Man the pumps! And read these advisories.

Forecasters at the National Hydrometeorological Prediction Center say the only good news is that, once this last blast of tropical downpours is gone, drier air will move in to end this water torture. The weekend looks sunny and mostly dry.

Earlier: The National Weather Service at Sterling has dished up a smorgasbord of weather watches and advisories for today, none of them anything we want to hear.

For starters, there's a coastal flood watch up for the Bay shore, as these persistent south and southeast winds shove more water up the bay and prevent it from leaving. Forecasters are looking for high tides today 1 to 2 feet above astronomical predictions. That means a chance for minor flooding at high tides through this evening. Tide data already shows the water well above predictions.

There are also warnings of more showers and thunderstorms - some of them heavy or severe with rainfall rates of 3 to 4 inches an hour - this afternoon and this evening as more moisture from the tropical Atlantic pours into the region. A developing low off the South Carolina coast is expected to blow northward into our region, with the possibility for several more inches of rain and flash flooding.

With that in mind, there are more flash flood watches posted for the region through tomorrow (Wednesday) morning. Sigh.

As always, stay safe. And if you have photos of heavy rain, flooding, high water, wet dogs, splashing kids ... post your best pictures on our Readers' Photos page. Just register, log in and upload your images. We'll post all we can. Be sure to include information on the photographer, where the shot was taken and when.