Look at this forecast. Nothing but clouds and showers (and maybe a thunderstorm thrown in for tomorrow) for the next seven days. Only on Wednesday of next week do we begin to see the word "sun" or "sunny" in the mix.

Oh, sure. We do still need rain. The entire state remains "abnormally dry" on this morning's Drought Monitor Map. The dryness is hydrological, meaning that, thanks to recent rains, agriculture appears to be off the hook for now, but dry conditions continue to trouble water tables and wells. But it is a signal that we do really need more substantial rain - more than would appear to be in the offing in the next week from the "chance" of showers in the forecast.

Temperatures after today will remain around the long-term averages for this time of year in Baltimore - around 70 during the day. Nights will be a bit warmer than the norms, in the 50s.

The exceptions will be today, where we will once again struggle to reach 60 degrees. Yesterday's high was 71 degrees, reached right after midnight. After falling out of the 70s around 2 a.m., we dropped to 53 by 9 a.m. and stuck there, never rising above 56 degrees all day. The overnight low was 50 at BWI. And the forecast high today is only 59 degrees.

The problem is high pressure over southern New England, which is blocking warmer weather from the west, and sending cloudy, cool, damp air at the surface back into the mid-Atlantic states.

On Friday we'll catch a bit of a break, as the high drifts away, and the cold front to our south returns as a warm front, and afternoon highs climb to the mid-70s. That could come with some thunderstorms. But the frontal boundary will be back, stalling across the region for the rest of the weekend and well into next week. From then on, we're looking at cooler, "mostly cloudy" days with "a chance" for showers.

So, maybe it's a good weekend to get the gardening done. But replacing the roof, or working on that pasty winter pallor? Maybe not so much.