Maybe this would be a good day to visit the book festival in Mt. Vernon and stock up. We should have sunshine today. But forecasters out at Sterling have posted a pretty gloomy set of predictions for the next few days, with on-and-off rain - some of it heavy at times - in the cards for Central Maryland. So it just seems like a good weekend to buy early and curl up with a good book.

The problem is a stalled cold front - the one that dropped down across the region overnight, bringing us a little light rain and cutting off the 80-plus temperatures and high humidity we've experienced in recent days. What we're left with are cool-to-mild temperatures that may not get much past 70 degrees today (Friday), and may not exit the 60s on Saturday - a few degrees colder than the long-term averages for this time of year.

And rain. Low-pressure systems tracking along the cold front from the Ohio Valley will be responsible for the rain that's forecast to pick up late Saturday. That rain could get heavy at times, with 1 to 2 inches possible overnight into Sunday. Maybe that will bring the month's rainfall - just 2 inches at BWI-Marshall so far - more into line with long-term averages.

Another cold front early next week will likely bring more showers before we break out into the sunshine again by Tuesday. But it will feel more like October, with highs only in the upper 60s.

(PHOTO: Baltimore Office of Promotions and the Arts)