Forecasters out at Sterling are calling it a "hybrid damming situation," but for those of us here in Central Maryland it just looks like a long, chilly wait for sunshine to return.

Here's the deal:  There is a high-pressure system centered over Maine at the moment. Highs spin clockwise, so it's sending cool, moist air our way off the Atlantic. There is also a low-pressure system far off the Delmarva coast. Lows spin counterclockwise. So that one is reinforcing the flow off the ocean. That's the "hybrid" part - high and low combining to produce the breeze off the ocean.

So all that cool, moist air is flowing onshore, out of the east, and then running into the eastern slope of the Appalachians. That's the "damming" part. The cool, wet air gets stuck here near the surface, even though the air mass above it is relatively dry. And we're underneath it all, in chilly air, looking up at overcast skies, and occasionally getting drizzle in the face.

When we get cold air damming in winter, that can set us up for a pile of snow if a storm develops to our south and rolls up the coast. But not yet.

The rub this time is that, even as weather systems shift around a bit in the next few days, NWS forecasters say we'll see little but gray clouds, and some drizzle on Friday morning. The drizzle will fade by noon, they say, and we may see some sunshine Saturday afternoon, and highs as toasty as 72 degrees. That will be a nice break for Trick or Treaters, like the weirdos at left.

But that's all in advance of another cold front sometime late on Saturday. And that will bring more clouds and showers overnight until the front passes.

Sunday may start out with showers, but things should clear off later, winding up mostly sunny and cool if the forecast holds up, with a high near 60. That'll be your day to get outside.

November looks like it will start out sunny and dry.