Sure, it was bitterly cold outdoors last night, looking for Comet Lulin under dark and starry skies. But you'll be warming up shortly. Forecasters out at Sterling are predicting afternoon highs 5 to 10 degrees above normal later this week as this deep high pressure system moves off to the east and its clockwise spin brings us into a return flow of milder, southerly breezes.

We can look for highs near 60 degrees by Thursday, under partly sunny skies, we're told.  Thursday night's low will be around 39 degrees at BWI, which is our forecast HIGH for today.

The warmup comes just ahead of an approaching cold front, which is likely to bring us some rain showers late on Thursday into Friday. No chance for a wintry mix this time, at least not east of the mountains.

Things will chill a bit after the front passes through, with highs by the weekend only in the 40s. But that's about the norm for this time of year in Baltimore. And the sunshine will make it seem just fine.

February has so far been very dry in Baltimore, with less than a quarter-inch of melted precipitation and only 0.6 inch of snow. Temperatures, thankfully for our heating bills next month, have been relatively warm, averaging more than 2 degrees above the long-term average for February.

Tonight's skies should remain very clear and fine for taking another look at Comet Lulin. It will have moved a bit farther west of Saturn and higher in the southern sky by late evening. Check here for a sky map. That's Mike Broussard's Lulin photo at left. Used with permission.