More hot weather ahead to start the new week, I'm afraid. After a near-perfect Sunday and a gorgeous Sunday evening (did anyone notice that slenderest of crescent moons, in the west after sunset?) of mild temperatures and low humidity, the stickiness will be on the rise again today and especially tomorrow, forecasters say.

Sterling is looking for highs today and tomorrow back up in the 90s after a nice weekend respite in the 80s. We've seen 20 days with highs of 90 or more so far this summer at BWI. We'll likely add three more this week before we get some relief.

That relief will be sweet, but we have to get past Tuesday first. Forecasters say the usual combination of rising heat and humidity, acting against an approaching cold front and upper-atmosphere disturbances will bring us a good chance for showers and thunderstorms Tuesday.

We could be looking at heat index values of 100 degrees or more tomorrow before the storms arrive to cool things down. Wind conditions aloft will favor strong to severe thunderstorms, so keep an eye on the forecast, and switch on your NOAA Weather Radio late Tuesday and Tuesday night.

The relief comes late in the week, when daytime highs will sink back into the more seasonable 80s, with lower humidity. Those highs will quite likely be below the seasonal norms. They're calling for highs of 83 under sunny skies for the weekend. Out at the beaches, we could see highs near just 80 degrees.