If you're new to the area, and you've been wondering what a Chesapeake summer really feels like, this week - even moreso than last week's three-day, triple-digit record-smasher - will teach you all you need to know.

Forecasters out at Sterling are giving us a 70 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms Monday and Tuesday, diminishing to 30 percent Wednesday. Look for highs near 90 degrees early in the week followed by the low 90s and sunnier skies late in the week. Dew points will be in the oppressive 70s, and we'll be steaming our crabs on the sidewalk.

Statistically, we are nearing the hottest week of the year, with average highs 87 to 88 degrees. Soon, you can tell yourself, the temperatures really should start to head the other way. At least on average. We're rounding the corner, and autumn is down the road someplace. Look for a Back-to-School Sale in a store near you.

We'll look for the weekly crop report today to see whether the drought damage worsened last week. And on Thursday we'll see the Drought Monitor maps and find out whether the weekend rains really made much difference across the state. 

David Cox, the Calvert County farmer we profiled in Saturday's paper, reports more than 3 inches of rain at his place Saturday. I got the following note from his wife, Susan:

"As I am writing this, the most beautiful sounds is coming in through the window. Drops of rain landing on the rose bushes around my home. Thanks for bringing the rain and for the article."

The tropics are quiet as the week begins, but this big slug of tropical moisture and steamy conditions we'll see tomorrow are actually the remnants of Tropical Depression #2, forecasters tell us. That's the one that followed Hurricane Alex onto the shores of northeast Mexico and southeast Texas last week.

Sterling says the wet air could drop as much as 2 inches of rain on some locations Tuesday, most likely during the afternoon and evening. "Damaging wet microbursts are possible in more organized clusters and strongest cells," foecasters said.  

(SUN PHOTO: Caribbean Festival Saturday in Baltimore/ Duy Do)