Go early, or go late. That seems to be the best advice for Holiday travel next week. The 7-day forecast this morning out of Sterling calls for rainy weather for the weekend, with a risk of some icing to our north and west. And Wednesday looks like more rain. So, if you want mostly sunny skies for the ride to Grandma's house, the best days for travel look like Monday and Tuesday. Or, if you haven't far to go, make the trip on Christmas Day.

The long-range forecast from Sterling calls for a sunny Christmas in Baltimore, with a high temperature of 39 degrees under sunny skies. Monday and Tuesday should be mostly sunny, too, but cold, with highs only in the low 30s, and overnight lows Monday into Tuesday in the teens.

But there's a lot of rain ahead before the new week begins.

Forecasters are looking through today's murky weather and calling for up to a quarter-inch of rain as a low-pressure system rides quickly along a cold front now draped along the Mason-Dixon Line. We are on the warm side of the front for now, so today will be the mildest day of the next seven, with a high around 45 degrees.

That means we'll see all rain from this initial storm. You can track the rainfall and watch the barometer fall at The Sun's weather station at Calvert & Centre streets. Winds may pick up late today as the low zips by just to our north and heads out to sea. Upstate PA and NY and New England will get some snow out of this, but we're looking and plain rain. That's AccuWeather.com's snow map at right.

After the low passes, temperatures will start to fall. There could be some flakes in the far western counties, but not here, forecasters say.

Saturday and Sunday will feel more like Christmas, with highs only in the 30s. The cold front will hold to our south, and the next low will track along that line to the NC/VA border and deepen offshore. That will bring us cloudy skies Saturday, and more precipitation very early Sunday morning. Forecasters insist we'll see rain, with the only risk of something frozen along the (east-west leg of the) Mason-Dixon Line, again, as well as the higher elevations to our west. Here's AccuWeather.com's take on the parade of storms.

So we escape winter again, for now. Once the weekend storm clears, we're looking at colder, drier weather for a couple of days - time to make your break for Grandma's place. Monday night into Tuesday will be the coldest time of the coming week, with lows in the teens at BWI.

For Wednesday, forecasters are spotting another low, bringing a 50 percent chance for more rain. But again, no frozen precip. here. Christmas Day should be sunny and bright.