Does this gray, showery day feel as good to you as it does to me? I was out in the rain today to cover a story down at the Patuxent Wildlife Refuge near Laurel. Standing around in the woods out there, it seemed like such a novelty - all the puddles and wet leaves, water trickling down my sleeve and making the ink run on my notebook. Actual rain!

The amounts haven't been too impressive yet, just 0.15 inch at BWI, a third of an inch at Reagan National and less than a quarter-inch at Dulles by late afternoon. But the forecast promises a lot more - more than three inches at the outside - before it starts to clear on Saturday.

Here are some more rain totals for the region. And the state. Streamflow has picked up in a few areas, but the numbers are likely to fall quickly again once the rain stops. Forecasters say the chances for flash flooding is nil. There is plenty of room in the stream banks for a rush of runoff. Here's the radar loop.

Once this slow-moving system pashed through this weekend, we'll set up for another big high-pressure system, and more dry, sunny weather.