I know, forecasters have been promising sunshine for a week. The stubborn cut-off low that has been controlling much of our weather for nearly two weeks was supposed to move out of the Midwest, across the mid-Atlantic and up into New England by now. High pressure would build in from the west and our long regional nightmare of gray skies and showers would be over.

Except that it hasn't happened. Not yet, anyway. That low has moved east. And now it's parked on top of us. The sunny weekend they predicted has come and gone, with downright cold temperatures and showers and wind instead.

UPDATE, 3 p.m.: Sunday's high of 51 degrees at BWI-Marshall Airport broke the previous record-low maximum temperature for the date - 53 degrees, set in 1939. 

Admit it; you were tempted to switch on the furnace this weekend. Am I right? At least you weren't dealing with snow, as some were in West Virginia this weekend.

The new forecast promises that all this, too, will pass. After more light showers and gray skies Monday, forecasters said, "The reign of this feature is slow[ly] coming to an end."

"Much of the eastern half of the country, especially the Ohio Valley/mid-Atlantic/New England has been under the influence of this upper-level system for the past couple of weeks. Today will be the slow-steady passage, and tomorrow the wind ... Improvement in these conditions [is] on the way, but it will be another day or two. Today will be cloudy and fairly wet, and tomorrow mostly cloudy and breezy."

The computer models, at least, seem to agree that the low will be clearing out overnight,  with some breaks in the clouds. Increased sunshine Tuesday will begin to raise daytime temperatures out of the 50s, where they resided all weekend, into the upper 60s Tuesday. There remains a "slight" chance for showers Tuesday, but any that do form will be light, they say.

The rest of the week looks fine, with sunny skies Wednesday and right through the weekend. Temperatures will improve gradually, moving back into the low 70s, which is about where they belong at this time of year in Baltimore.

They promise.

(SUN PHOTO: Frank Roylance)