Yesterday's storms have surely helped, but as of Tuesday much of Maryland remained on the federal government's weekly Drought Monitor maps. We are not yet in an actual drought. The region is still classified as merely "abnormally dry." And the long-term prospects do not suggest our situation will deteriorate through the summer.

Here is the latest Drought Monitor map, out this morning. Here is how conditions have changed over recent weeks. And here is the outlook for precip this summer - indicating no strong trend away from normal amounts.

For now, we're looking at very cool weather today, as we remain under the influence of that stubborn storm still spinning off the Atlantic coast. It's throwing lots of cool, moist maritime air off the Atlantic and back onto the Eastern Seaboard. And the persistent easterly winds are driving tides a foot or more above predicted levels along the western shore of the bay.

But that won't last much longer. High pressure is building from the north and west, the barometer is inching upward, and we'll see more sunshine and warmer temperatures as we head into the weekend. By Sunday and Monday we should be back in the 90s.