There is a storm in the forecast for Baltimore. The National Weather Service says we have a 60 percent chance for precipitation on Sunday as another storm crosses the southeastern U.S. and tracks up the coast.

This time, with temperatures in the mid-Atlantic expected to be above freezing - in the upper 30s - we should get rain.

UPDATE: Well, now the latest NWS forecast is admitting the possibility of snow showers (at least west of I-95) as the storm begins, changing to a cold rain, then back to snow showers as the system pulls away. Earlier post resumes below.

AccuWeather.com is calling for "heavy" rain Sunday as the coastal storm cranks up. Here's how Mr. Foot and his team see it.

If so, this will be the first precip to fall as rain in the city since New Year's Day. That was also the last time the mercury has topped 40 degrees at BWI Marshall Airport. We could cross that mark again on Thursday, with forecast highs in the lower 40s. On Friday we could reach 50 for the first time since Dec. 27.

(UPDATE: Looks like BWI has already touched 40 degrees this afternoon. )

The warming trend will help us clear away the scattered remnants of the big December snowstorm. With any luck Sunday's rain will also rinse my car of its salty crust. The lines at the car wash have been too long, so the car remains a two-tone, green-and-gray job.

And if the forecast holds up, we could get through Saturday or Sunday nights without dropping below freezing. If so, it would be the first night that's happened since Dec. 26.

Until then, the NWS forecast office at Sterling says we should expect the cloud deck we're under this (Wednesday) morning to thin this afternoon. We should see stars tonight and sunny skies and rising temperatures for the rest of the week, until the rain moves in on Sunday.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday on Monday looks, from this distance, to be mostly cloudy, with highs in the lower 40s. UPDATE: MLK Day should be partly sunny.

(SUN PHOTO/Amy Davis/Jan. 10, 2000)