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Big rains coming

 Sun Photo by Ken Lam - 2006

                                                                             Sun photo by Kenneth Lam - 2006 

Keep those unbrellas handy. The sunbathing is over and an approaching low-pressure system could drop an inch or two of rain on the Baltimore region between this afternoon and Friday night.

Forecasters say the low is tracking our way from the Mississippi valley, and it will be wet, tapping moisture streams from both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic. That could mean a quarter-inch this afternoon, another inch - or two - overnight tonight into tomorrow.

Here's the radar loop.

There are no watches or warnings out in Maryland at this writing, but forecasters acknowledge they "may need to consider flood watch" in the next forecast update. There is also some talk in today's discussion from Sterling that if thunderstorms develop amid all this weather. "there's a decent chance they may start to spin" - a reference to a risk of tornadoes, at least in Central Virginia.

Once this system pulls away late on Friday, we'll get a short break. But Saturday looks like our only sunny day for a while. Another, similar storm system will move in on Sunday, with more rain later on Sunday into Monday - described by forecasters as "a decent soaker, not unlike the tonight/Friday system."

Forecast models then see another brief respite, followed by yet another rain system on Wednesday.

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About the blogger


Frank Roylance is a reporter for The Baltimore Sun. He came to Baltimore from New Bedford, Mass. in 1980 to join the old Evening Sun. He moved to the morning Sun when the papers merged in 1993, and has spent most of his time since covering science, including astronomy and the weather. One of The Sun's first online Web logs, the Weather Blog debuted in October 2004. In June 2006 Frank also began writing comments on local weather and stargazing for The Sun's print Weather Page.
Recent articles by Frank

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