Ya gotta love April in Baltimore. Overnight lows this morning sank well into the 30s across a good deal of the region. There was a low of 37 reported from Towson, with minimums near the freezing mark above the Pennsylvania line and even lower elsewhere to our west. Here is a map of low readings from NWS observers.

And now the forecast is calling for a Baltimore high in the 70s this afternoon, climbing well into the 80s for Saturday through Tuesday. We haven't seen the 80s around here since Oct. 16, so it's going to feel HAWT!

The "normal" (actually, the long-term average) highs and lows for BWI at this time of year are in the mid-60s and mid-40s. But hot weather in April is not uncommon. We touched the 80s on three dates in April last year, and on five dates the year before. The records at this time of year are in the mid-90s and mid-30s.

We're enjoying the nice weather courtesy of a big high-pressure system that's sitting pretty nearly on top of us. As it moves off the coast, we'll come under a more southerly and then southwesterly and westerly flow as the system circulates clockwise around the center. That brings us warmer weather.

Overnight lows over the weekend, thankfully, will remain cool, in the 50s to near 60 degrees. So just open those windows for the night and shut the house up, and close the drapes during the day. You'll sleep better, and you shouldn't have to switch on the AC yet. Plenty of time for that as summer gets near.