Heat today, gone tomorrow

This may be our last breath of summer weather as a Bermuda High to our southeast and low pressure to our southwest combine to draw warm air into the region from the south and west.

The forecast high for Monday at BWI-Marshall is 86 degrees. That's not too far from the record high for this date - 89 degrees, set in 1919 and matched during a very warm spell in 1954. And given Sterling's habit of undershooting the highs at BWI, this may be a close call.

UPDATE, 5 p.m.: Looks like BWI has topped out at 85 degrees. No record today.

The NWS is already predicting a new record high today at Dulles International Airport in Northern 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 forecast high there today is 87 degrees.

UPDATE, 5 p.m.: Looks like the high at Dulles today was 86 degrees.

On top of the hot weather, today could also bring some thunderstorms, especially to communities from the Mason-Dixon Line to the Baltimore area, forecasters said. The chance for showers and storms will continue through Tuesday, but the highs will hold in the 70s as winds shift to the northwest and clouds keep solar heating at bay.

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A cold front passage will clear the skies again for Wednesday, keeping the daytime highs in the 60s, but forecasters say the rain returns Thursday.

A low forming over the Carolinas will become a coastal low, drawing cool air and moisture off the Atlantic and setting us up for rainy days on Thursday and Friday. But the weekend looks better, with sunny skies and highs in the 60s. Cooler air and clear skies could mean some frost or patchy freezing temperatures in the western mountains late in the week, forecasters said.

I think I'll take whatever Nature cares to send us this week. After the gorgeous weekend just past, we have no right to complain.

(SUN PHOTO: Frank Roylance Oct. 9, 2010)

Heat today, gone tomorrow

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