Maryland's weather will slide downhill late today and tonight as the high that kept us sunny and cold over the weekend moves off the Virginia coast. Winds from the south will keep temperatures relatively mild. The rain that's due late today, tonight and tomorrow morning with an approaching cold front should clear away in time for holiday travelers who set out on Wednesday for Grandmother's house.

The rainy weather headed our way is slogging east from the Mississippi Valley today toward the Appalachians. Clouds here will thicken as the day wears on, with rain arriving during the evening. Forecasters out at Sterling put the rain chances for Baltimore at 100 percent tonight, with as much as a half-inch possible. As temperatures fall with the cold front's passage, western counties can expect the precipitation to change to freezing rain, and then snow.

Central Maryland should see an all-rain event as the cold front passes by after midnight. The rain will likely linger into the morning hours Tuesday before winds shift and the air begins to clear toward nightfall.

That will put us, once again, in a northwesterly wind pattern, producing more lake-effect snow for the mountains, and colder overnight lows here. The highs will stick in the 40s all week.

Thanksgiving's forecast looks mostly sunny and bright, with highs in  the upper 40s.  Friday looks fine, too, but the next weather system moves in late Friday and Saturday. It looks like rain, but forecasters hint that snow showers are a possibility for Friday night, especially in higher elevations. There are rain chances, too, for Saturday.

A NOTE TO READERS: As some of you may have noticed, the comments function on the WeatherBlog has been on the fritz since last week. Attempts to post a comment led to a screen saying the "page could not be found." 

This problem has now been fixed. You may send comments  again, and I will post them as soon as I see them. Thanks for your patience.  Anybody see the Space Station flyby on Saturday night?