When the official thermometer at BWI-Marshall reached its measly afternoon high of 69 degrees on Wednesday, it tied a record. It wasn't a record high, of course. That would have required topping out at 99 degrees - the record high for the date set in 1983.

The day's high of 69 degrees tied the record low maximum temperature for an Aug. 22, set in 1990. That means the highest temperature of the day was as cool as it's ever been on an Aug. 22 in Baltimore since record-keeping began in 1871.

The average temperature for the day was a mere 65 degrees (high 69, low 61), which is 9 degrees below normal for the date. It was the coolest day, relative to long-term daily averages, since April 16.

Wednesday was also the fifth straight day of below-normal daily average temperature. It's a far cry from just two weeks ago, on Aug. 8, when we topped out at 102 degrees at BWI, with an overnight low of 80 degrees. That made the day's average 91 degrees, 15 degrees above normal for an Aug. 8 in Baltimore.

By Saturday, of course, it will all be forgotten. They're predicting an afternoon high of 99 degrees at the airport that day as this stubborn, gray frontal system finally blows away to the north and we get back into a real mid-summer flow of hot, humid air again. After some showers later in the weekend, and a new air mass, things will cool a bit, and get back into the more seasonable 80s.