Wind advisory in effect for Saturday for Baltimore region
The National Weather Service has a wind advisory in effect until 6 p.m. Saturday for the Baltimore area.
A wind advisory means that wind gusts over 45 mph are expected, and can make driving difficult, especially for “high-profile” vehicles.
The weather service is forecasting winds of 20 to 30 mph, with gusts up to 50 mph. Forecasters say the strongest winds will be Saturday morning and afternoon. They advise motorists to use extra caution.
Otherwise, the weather service is calling for Saturday to be mostly sunny, with a high near 49. There is a slight chance of showers before 2 p.m., then a chance of scattered showers and snow showers between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Little or no snow accumulation is expected.
Baltimore Gas and Electric said it was “closely monitoring the winds, which the utility said in a statement “could very likely cause trees and tree limbs to fall onto power lines and other electric delivery equipment.” BGE has increased the amount of repair workers in the field.
Around 11:30 a.m., the utility reported 1,143 outages in its coverage area.
Saturday night is expected to be mostly clear, with a low around 33 and west winds between 10 and 20 mph.
Sunday is expected to be sunny, with a high near 47 and northwest winds between 5 and 8 mph, becoming southwesterly.
Sunday night is expected to be mostly clear, with a low around 34 and south winds around 5 mph.
A wind advisory means that wind gusts over 45 mph are expected, and can make driving difficult, especially for “high-profile” vehicles.
The weather service is forecasting winds of 20 to 30 mph, with gusts up to 50 mph. Forecasters say the strongest winds will be Saturday morning and afternoon. They advise motorists to use extra caution.
Otherwise, the weather service is calling for Saturday to be mostly sunny, with a high near 49. There is a slight chance of showers before 2 p.m., then a chance of scattered showers and snow showers between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Little or no snow accumulation is expected.
Baltimore Gas and Electric said it was “closely monitoring the winds, which the utility said in a statement “could very likely cause trees and tree limbs to fall onto power lines and other electric delivery equipment.” BGE has increased the amount of repair workers in the field.
Around 11:30 a.m., the utility reported 1,143 outages in its coverage area.
Saturday night is expected to be mostly clear, with a low around 33 and west winds between 10 and 20 mph.
Sunday is expected to be sunny, with a high near 47 and northwest winds between 5 and 8 mph, becoming southwesterly.
Sunday night is expected to be mostly clear, with a low around 34 and south winds around 5 mph.
through late this afternoon. And once it finally gets by us, we're in for some of the first really nippy temperatures of the season.
Friday still looks good, with sunny skies. But daytime highs will only reach the low 50s. And the forecast from there goes downhill again. 
cold front and coastal low affect the region.
admit some increasing cloudiness early Wednesday. Temperatures could reach 70 degrees - the last we'll see of that number for a while.
with mild temperatures borne on southwest winds. The southerly component of the wind has triggered a Coastal Flood Advisory, but forecasters are expecting the water to rise only a foot or less above tide table predictions for Arundel's shores. 
Shower chances rise again on Wednesday ahead of the next cold front and an accompanying low-pressure system, especially for the northwest suburbs. The cold front settles in by Thursday morning, with lots of clouds and shower chances rising to 60 percent.
inch of rain at BWI-
before the twin lows headed this way finally merge and depart to the northeast. Some western counties could see some wet snowflakes before it's all done - or "snizzle" as the folks out at NWS/Sterling are calling it.
front that pushed through this morning and took the clouds with it.
temperatures and showers and wind instead. 
Well, all that seems to have gone away now. The National Weather Service folks in Sterling now say the same low-pressure system that has been powering our nearly incessant clouds and showers all week STILL has not left the premises.
Airport, there is no mention of anything frozen here. Our lows will hold in the upper 40s. The earliest snow on record for Baltimore (a trace) fell on Oct. 9, 1903.
First, forecasters say, the midwestern "cut-off" low that has been sitting and spinning out there for a week, helped to drag incessant, damp, sub-tropical moisture this way from the Gulf and the Atlantic, will finally get kicked out of the region by Thursday. That will be followed on Friday by two quick waves of low pressure and increasingly strong cold fronts - each with a risk of scattered thunderstorms. Some could become severe, but they don't expect widespread severe weather.
blah, blah.
rising to 70 percent on Tuesday and 60 percent Tuesday night. Wednesday, too, could bring more showers, with chances for Wednesday night rated at 50 percent.
enough to produce flash flooding," said National Weather Service forecasters in Sterling, Va., in this morning's forecast discussion.
an accompanying threat of showers until Wednesday.
The wettest day will be Friday, with several inches on tap for the I-95 corridor if the forecasters are right. Rain chances at put at 90 percent during the day, and 80 percent Friday night. Forecast models differ on how much to expect. But forecasters today decided to issue a 
ahead of a cold front loitering to our west, and a stubborn high to our east that's preventing much movement of these systems through the mid-Atlantic region - a kind of meteorological constiptaion.
Forecasters are calling for 
thunderstorms. The colder Canadian air behind it could arrive with gusty winds, and small hail. But it will clear off quickly, and then late-afternoon temperatures will begin to drop into the 50s.
truly hot summer day of the year. 
we already picked up the season's first two degree-days last Tuesday. The high that rainy day was 64; the low was 62, for an average of 63 degrees. That was 8 degrees below the norm. 
101 degrees, reached on Sept. 7, 1881. 
Mexico, and is forecast to dump as much as 20 inches of rain on portions of the northern Gulf Coast. More on that in the next post.
The National Weather Service at Sterling, Va., says an approaching cold front will bring clouds and the threat of rain beginning sometime after 2 p.m. Saturday. It doesn't sound like a gusher of rain - unless a thunderstorm passes right over downtown Baltimore. 
The forecast from the National Weather Service forecast office in Sterling, Va., say there's 
would spare us an Isabel-like storm surge up the Chesapeake Bay.
They're predicting landfall late Saturday or early Sunday somewhere near the North Carolina/ South Carolina border. It would be the first hurricane landfall on the U.S. mainland since 2008. 
The National Weather Service regional forecast office in Sterling is predicting highs in the low 80s Monday and Tuesday. In between, overnight lows may dip into the 50s Tuesday morning, and the 60s in the cities. By Tuesday night, Wednesday morning, we could record some lows in the 50s in the urban corridor, too.
northern coast of the Dominican Republic and Haiti Monday morning. 
Hurricane Warnings have been dropped for Puerto Rico and nearby islands, replaced by Tropical Storm Warnings.
The National Hurricane Center is watching the atmosphere to Irene's north, where high pressure is keeping the storm from curving north into the open Atlantic. Instead, it is being steered west, closer to the U.S. coast.
disturbances set off scattered showers and storms. The best chances are focused on the period from tonight through Friday.
The first sign of a change in the weather will likely be some increasing cloudiness. As the high that's bringing today's pleasant weather moves off the coast, the wind will shift more to the south, bringing more moisture up from the Atlantic, off the Carolina coast.
Blame a 
Low pressure over Northern Quebec and high pressure over the Midwest are combining to draw cool, dry air down from Canada, clearing our air of both heat and humidity. BWI-Marshall Airport could see an overnight low of just 60 degrees tonight. 
evening with some welcome showers. This time the frontal passage will be dry.
weekend and beyond.
"This means cooler weather for us, and perhaps some much-needed rain for some folks. The change will start to take place over the weekend, and be in place by early to middle of next week. It will likely still be humid, but daytime highs will be markedly cooler," he said.
There are 
That would cap the streak at 17 days, including Tuesday, the third-longest consecutive string of 90-degree weather for Baltimore since record-keeping began. In all, July delivered 24 days with 90-plus weather, a 
weather service still predicts Heat Index values of 105 to 109 degrees. 
idea, if you're still participating, to make your own plans accordingly.
Tuesday's official BWI high of 95 degrees. 
Baltimore. The 
and off the coast by Thursday. That will bring us into the return flow on the backside of the high. And in a repeat of last week's weather, those southerly winds will bring in increasing heat and humidity, while subsidence of the air in the high pressure will heat us up even more.
60s), and gradually push into the mid-90s, with sunny skies and rising humidity, as the week rolls by. The average highs for BWI at this time of year are closer to 87 degrees, so we remain on the hot side. But no one seems to be looking for more triple-digit weather for now.
I don't think there's much doubt that BWI will be setting a new daily heat record for Baltimore today. The hottest July 22 on the books for Baltimore reached 101 degrees, in 1957. We're just 5 degrees short of that mark at 10 a.m. and there's no rain in sight today. So I'd bet we will knock that record down this afternoon.
For the rest of us ... Ick. The National Weather Service is calling for 
fire up in the Midwest and ride around the edge of the high and stagger into Maryland's heat and very high humidity. 
the 100-degree mark by Thursday afternoon and topping it on Friday. We can count on another string of bad air days, too. Maryland west of the bay and east of Hagerstown is already under a Code Orange Air Quality alert today, meaning air pollution is expected to reach levels considered unhealthy for sensitive groups.
You'll need plenty of sunblock, of course. And a hat. The sun angles are still close to the year's maximum. And it's pretty dry, so you'll need lots of fluids to keep you well-hydrated. 
blogger has contended for some time that Sterling routinely undershoots Baltimore's summer heat wave highs by 2 or 3 degrees. We'll see how well they do this time.
residents are urged to avoid strenuous activity or exercise outdoors today.
another Code Orange air pollution alert Tuesday. The alert means air pollution levels may become unhealthy for sensitive groups, including children, the elderly, and people with respiratory or cardiac conditions. The effects can be minimized by avoiding strenuous outdoor activity. 
the north.
predicting a 
become severe, with up to a half-inch of rain, hail and damaging winds
90 degrees, with plenty of humidity to justify keeping the AC on.
So it's Canadian high pressure that arrived with a bang late Sunday. And we have been cooling down and drying out overnight. The year's almost-earliest sunrise on the WeatherDeck in Cockeysville (the earliest is Tuesday morning) came this morning with clear blue skies, crisp, cool air and (way too early) birdsong.
We have 25 entries, a healthy increase from last year's total (although it's a laughable fraction of the 16,000 WeatherBlog page views we typically get in a week). Like I said, this takes daring-do.
of rain in storms.
Monday, when forecasters promise we'll see the start of several delightfully dry, sunny days with highs in the low 80s.
We are victims of a summer-like Bermuda High parked over the Atlantic. The clockwise spin around the high is dragging hot, humid air off the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico and sending it our way. 
Va. is calling for a high of 
And, we will have dew points in the 70s again, too, just like last week. That means mid-summer Chesapeake humidities. So look for Heat Index readings well into the low 100s, Code Red Alerts and Air Quality Alerts, as well.
Count on something a few degrees higher. The record for a June 9 in Baltimore is 98 degrees, set back in 1933, so I'm watching for a new record.
The fresh air is coming with gusty winds. Forecasters out at Sterling say we could see northwest gusts to 25 or 30 mph. The combination of winds and low humidity has raised the danger of wildfires during the afternoon and early evening. So crush those smokes.
62 percent, and the dew point at 79 degrees, the Heat Index value works out to 112 degrees. Good grief!
The National Weather Service is predicting a high of 93 degrees at BWI-Marshall Airport on Memorial Day, with enough humidity to drive the Heat Index to between 95 and 100 degrees for several days early next week. And given Sterling's record of under-shooting our summer highs, I'd bet on temperatures reaching 95 or better.
"On Tuesday, the temp aloft is expected to be near ... 70°F, which is 96° or so at ground level. Ouch." 
clouds, and at low risk (30 percent) of afternoon and evening showers. 
stokes the atmosphere.
be today (Tuesday) and tonight, with probabilities of 50 to 70 percent.
The main actors this week will include high pressure offshore. Clockwise circulation around the high will be pumping warm, humid air our way from the Atlantic and the Gulf. (Feel like summer by the Cheseapeake yet?) Add a series of disturbances working their way east from the Midwest and you get a showery forecast for the entire week.
about to end. 
tides in excess of two feet above normal today. 
EASTERN WEST VIRGINIA.
And that is spooling in loads of moisture from the Atlantic Ocean. Add some daytime solar energy, and we will be kicking off more showers and thunderstorms for the immediate future.
Oh, and the 
the first time in quite a while. That will keep afternoon highs in the low 70s.
"slight" risk of severe storms through tonight.
around for a few more days before a cold front later this week finally clears the air.
are predicting
with highs in the upper 60s. Even Friday will bring some sunshine, but with cooler temperatures as winds swing to the east and bring in more moisture and clouds.
Once the low-pressure system darkening our skies today and Wednesday moves east and away from the mid-Atlantic coast, our skies will clear as high pressure moves in. Temperatures have been falling all night, and won't get much higher today than they are this morning. By tomorrow we'll be looking at highs again in the 50s. Sunshine returns Thursday, but the blue sky will be short-lived.
So we may well threaten the April 11 record of 85. 
The next cold front will be close behind on Monday, with thunderstorms possible as it passes by, trailing behind a low crossing the Great Lakes. Despite the name, temperatures are forecast to remain mild after the cold front goes past, with highs Tuesday and Wednesday predicted to reach the low 70s, under mostly sunny skies.
drags a cold front this way. The northern counties could see a few drops of rain, but mostly we'll get just clouds with highs in the 60s Wednesday and Thursday.
all the moisture by game time. 
Chance of showers ... increasing clouds ... a chance of showers and thunderstorms ... a low around 36 ... mostly cloudy."
Saturday.
the Potomac. Up to a half-inch is possible with this one, forecasters say.
just south of the cold air and we get a risk of mixed rain and snow this week.
More sunshine on Tuesday is forecast to bring our temperatures into the low 50s. But the first storm system will send precipitation northeastward into our area late Tuesday into Wednesday. With cold air wedged against the eastern slope of the Appalachians, that raises the possibility of some frozen stuff.
This wintry weather in early spring comes as Washington, D.C. prepares for its annual cherry blossom festival, and trees across the region begin to bud and bloom. Willows, forsythia, bulbs are showing some color, and many other species seem ready to burst, Tellingly, tree pollen counts are also up.
rain or snow showers before 10 Friday evening, forecasters said. Western suburbs and the higher elevations to our west could see a dusting.
Which brings us to 
Rain moves in late this evening. A low-pressure system 
mixing in as the low moves out and cold, Canadian air works in behind it. But our skies should begin to clear late in the day.
weather comes courtesy of west winds that are coming over the Appalachians and compressing as they flow down the eastern slope. And, as anyone who has ever filled a SCUBA tank knows, when you compress a gas, it gets hot.
have caught the heaviest rains. Here are some totals from the 
inches, well over the 3.93-inch average for March, with two more weeks to go.
direction. Increasing clouds will begin to drop light rain here by evening, and rain rates will increase overnight, forecasters said. It should end by noon in the Baltimore area.
But first we'll have to deal with another round of rain late Tuesday into Wednesday, and highs no better than the 50s. The clouds start moving in from the north later today. Showers may start to break out Tuesday afternoon, picking up overnight and leaving a quarter- to a half-inch before ending sometime Wednesday morning.
above normal. 
Wednesday's online discussion from Sterling. "Last week I was worried about the possibility of a very bad wildfire season this spring. But that worry has rapidly turned into concerns over flooding."
Prince George's and Anne Arundel counties.
add to the total - as much as three-quarters of an inch more - before it ends early on Friday.
The National Weather Service is reporting 2.5 inches on Frostburg, Md. The highest totals were in West Virginia, topped by 6.7 inches on Bayard, Grant County. None of that, of course, compares with the foot or more from the same storm system, recorded this morning in portions of northern New England and northeastern Canada (AccuWeather.com map, left; depths in centimeters). 
rainy cold front to pass through Central Maryland. We'll have sunshine and seasonable temperatures until then. And look for more gusty weather today.
weekend, get out there on Saturday.
in much colder air. The 
as warmer, wetter air moves north into our region Friday and Saturday. That could produce showers by Saturday, as temperatures warm again to near 60 degrees. The rain chances will lop over into Sunday, as well. Monday is forecast to be sunny, with a high near 51 degrees.
area at 50 mph. Damaging winds up to 60 mph were possible.
The National Weather Service forecasters out at Sterling, Va. are ca
This morning's overcast skies will burn off and forecasters say skies should become at least partly sunny Friday afternoon. That will help bring temperatures into the 70s across much of Central Maryland. The high at BWI-Marshall on Thursday touched 71 degrees. That gave us an average temperature for the day of 56 degrees, which was 20 degrees above the long-term average for the date.
time of year. Accidental escaped debris burns are the number one cause of wildfires."
pressure moves east in the next couple of days we will see winds swing to the south and southwest again, and the thermometer will stretch back into the 60s.
again quite nicely.
And yet, here we are, with the forecasters putting the persistent cold and threat of the dreaded "wintry mix" behind them. There is a warm front passing through the region today (Sunday) and skies will begin to clear up. 