Hurricane Tomas could move toward Haiti
As if they didn't have enough to contend with in Haiti, now Hurricane Tomas is forecast to become a major Cat. 3 storm and could make a turn toward that tortured island nation later this week.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami says Tomas, the 12th hurricane of the 2010 Atlantic season, is about 350 miles south southeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico, moving toward the west 
northwest at 8 p.m. after pummeling the Windward Islands.
It is packing top sustained winds of 100 mph, making it just 11 mph short of a Cat. 3 storm. Some weakening is predicted as Tomas encounters shearing winds in the next few days. But conditions later this week are expected to enable a restrengthening.
High pressure to the north of the storm will keep it headed west for now. But a turn toward the north is possible perhaps four days from now, forecasters said, as the high breaks down.
There is no mention of Haiti in the morning forecast discussion. But, while confidence is low, the tentative forecast track does move Tomas ominously in that nation's direction by the end of the week. The forecasters say there is a 40 percent probability of tropical-storm force winds in Port au Prince within the next five days.
Here is the latest advisory on Hurricane Tomas. Here is the forecast track. And here is the view from space.
Today is Hallowe’en, more properly expressed as All Hallows’ Eve. It’s the evening before All Saints (or Hallows) Day, designated by the Roman Catholic pope in A.D. 835 to honor all the saints. 
Bob Ercole
Forecasters at the National Weather Service's forecast office in Sterling, Va. have posted 
East of the Windward Islands, meanwhile, a second region of stormy weather appears to be on the verge of becoming Tropical Storm Tomas (pronounced toe-MAS) later today.
Jeff Brauner, in Baltimore, noticed that the record high for an Oct. 25 in Baltimore is just 77 degrees. “All other October dates are at least 5 degrees higher, well into the 80s … Could this be an error?” I doubt it. Set in 1931, it’s October’s coolest record high. But it’s likely just an outlier, occurring two weeks before daily record highs are routinely in the upper 70s. It happens. The March 11 record is 75 degrees, surrounded by upper 70s and 80s. And the Jan. 14-15 records are 78 and 79 degrees, surrounded by 60s and low 70s. 
low for any Oct. 27 since record-keeping began for Baltimore in 1871, breaking 
Space Cadets! The International Space Station is back in the evening sky and Baltimore is in line for two fine passes this week. Look tonight for the ISS to rise above the southwest horizon at 7:11 p.m. EDT, climbing high in the northwest by 7:14 before sliding off to the northeast and disappearing at 7:16 p.m. The track will be almost identical Saturday evening. If skies aren't too bright, look for the station a bit further west at 6:29 p.m., climbing into the northwestern sky by 6:31, before fading in the northeast at 6:35. 
That broke the previous record of 62.5 inches at BWI, set in the winter of 1995-96.
8. Record-high minimum daily temperatures: set May 3, (69 degrees); July 24, (82 degrees); tied Oct. 26, (62 degrees); Oct. 27, (67 degrees).
Wednesday.
Marshall this morning was 68 degrees, nearly 30 degrees warmer than the average low for this time of year in Baltimore.
its power should be much diminished.
degenerate into a "remnant low," they say.
Forecasters at the NWS forecast office in Sterling say the battle of clouds and sunshine we're seeing this morning will eventually be won by the clouds. 
Honduras - now Belize. It was packing top sustained winds of 90 mph, with hurricane-force winds extending 15 miles from the center of this small stor. Tropical storm-force winds were being felt more than 100 miles from the center.
Jane Buxton Brown
summer. The Drought Monitor map for Maryland shows the portion of the state still in official drought declined from 33 percent to just 15 percent this month. 
ever detected. 
circus. Three blizzards and a flurry of lesser storms dropped an official 77 inches on BWI-Marshall. Western Maryland saw totals well into the triple digits. Common sense is enough to suggest we couldn't see that kind of weather again soon. 
into the upper 30s. There are 
NOAA's Climate Predicition Center has issued its three-month precipitation outlook for the nation, and it shows continuing dry weather for Southern Maryland and the Delmarva Peninsula (brown and tan on the map at left). Both regions were hit hard by drought this summer.
Florida, southern Georgia and coastal South Carolina. Its part of an even wider region of dry weather forecast for the Southeastern United States that reaches into southern Maryland.
Richard, the 17th named storm of the 2010 Atlantic season.
Richard Rosenbaum, of Arnold, says high wind damaged his boat on the Magothy in June. But his insurance company “denies any significant weather event… Can you suggest any way to access weather archives to determine wind speed?” 
"For the upcoming winter," said Angel Hernandez, of Easton, "I predict it to be less eventful than last year, with two notable storms of 6 inches and up. I hope I'm wrong for both my dog's and my inner child's sake."
the humidity they bring, but I can say that, thankfully, I embraced those string of 90+ temp days. I must've lost at least 15 pounds walking in the thick of it." 
The clouds cleared away nicely late this afternoon, leaving the sky to the waxing moon and, just below, the planet Jupiter. 
Here we go. Cold weather is upon us. With skies clearing, radiational cooling will sink temperatures in the northern and western counties tonight, while dew points fall into the mid-30s. 
and see familiar constellations. One of the most familiar, of course, is the Big Dipper. The big rectanglular bowl and long, curved handle are easy to pick out in the northern sky at any time of year.
For example, the star at the bend of the dipper's handle - Mizar - is actually a double star. Its companion is Alcor. They're sometimes used as a test of visual acuity. People with the sharpest eyesight may be able to see two stars there without magnification. For the rest of us, binoculars can easily separate the pair. 
less moisture.
We did put the electric blanket on the bed Saturday morning. We hooked it all up, but so far have not had to throw that switch either.
We tied a 
region this weekend means we're going to see the winds pick up later Friday and Saturday.
Chesapeake for today, tonight and Saturday. Gale warnings may be needed if winds keep in increasing. More SCAs may be needed for Sunday. Boaters take heed. You can also expect very low "blowout tides" this weekend as the northwest winds shove water down the bay.
Meanwhile, the coastal storm, as predicted, is battering New England and sending snow into the higher altitudes of northern New England. 
Space Cadets! Sure, it’s hard to get up early on a Saturday. But if the dog or the kids get you up before dawn, and skies are clear, step outside for five minutes with your tax dollars and the International Space Station.
The National Weather Service posted a 
Maryland. But the real weather today and tomorrow will be driven by a secondary low that's developing into a Nor'easter off the mid-Atlantic coast.
But the storm is expected to curve east and then southeast, staying mainly over the island of Cuba. A Hurricane Warning is up for portions of western Cuba, and a Tropical Storm Warning is posted for Havana. 
What happens after that is less than clear, however. If the storm continues to strengthen in the region's warm waters, it could be picked up by prevailing west-southwesterly winds and accelerated off toward South Florida and northeastward into the Atlantic. 
For now, the storm is located off the coast of Nicaragua and Honduras, moving west northwest at 10 mph. If it becomes a tropical storm, forecasters said:
Virginia. The period of record there only goes back to 1963, so it's easier to break records than for Baltimore, where records began in 1871. The record high for Oct. 11 at Dulles is just 78 degrees, set in 1980 and matched in 1995 and 2001. The 
Baltimore’s snow season is officially open. Okay, it’s not official, just my say-so. But Saturday marked the date of the earliest snowfall on record for Baltimore – a trace that fell Oct. 9, 1903.
Eighty-eight years ago this evening it began raining in Baltimore. Twelve hours later, 5.18 inches had fallen, erasing the two-foot shortage left at Loch Raven Reservoir by a late summer drought. But an overflowing Jones Falls flooded the Folly Theater cellar, soaking performers’ trunks, The Sun reported. Sewers backed up into basements. Rain gushed through a hole in the roof at Hecht Bros. store on So. Broadway. And a cave-in on E. Biddle flooded a cellar filled with broom straw. 
problem for the Azores early next week.
It looks like skies will be clear and dry tonight. Why not make it an evening of stargazing? The observatory on the Dundalk campus of the Community College of Baltimore County is holding another public observing session from 8 to 10 p.m. 
Bob Anbinder
That should begin to clear our skies late today, forecasters promise. And 
characteristics of a true tropical cyclone
more than 14 inches of rain in last week's rainstorm. That's his yard in the photo, taken during the storm. The rainfall map shows the storm totals in one-inch increments, from 3 or less (darkest blue), upward to 13 or more (red). Enjoy.
inch of rain since it began Sunday evening. We have 
Space Cadets! Get your binoculars and telescopes ready. Amateur astronomers are gearing up for a look at 
Warm and, in the end, very wet pretty much sums up our weather in September. Rainfall was running more than an inch behind the averages until the 6-inch deluge on the last day of the month. It was the wettest Sept. 30 and the wettest September day on record for Baltimore. Temperatures averaged 71 degrees. That’s 3.6 degrees above average, making it the fourth-warmest September in 30 years. Readings ranged from 47 on the 21st, to 95 three days later.
wet, although that doesn't seem like a feature you'd want in a weather station.
The 
