Showery, mild this week; sunny, cooler weekend

Lots of shower icons on the NWS forecast page this morning as a band of disturbed weather drifts our way ahead of a cold front.

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. Scattered showers are expected to move in after 3 p.m. No more than a few tenths of an inch are likely, except where thunderstorms pop up.

The sunshine and southwesterly breezes will keep temperatures mild, with highs Monday afternoon in the mid-70s in the I-95 corridor. The average highs for Baltimore at this time of year are in the mid-60s, so we're running 10 degrees above the norm.

The same will hold true tonight. You may be opening a window and throwing off the blankets you hauled out Friday night. After a low of 35 degrees Saturday morning, we're looking at lows in the low- to mid-60s tonight and tomorrow night. Those will be close to the normal HIGHS for the dates.

Still praying for rain? More showers are likely after midnight Tuesday and into Wednesday as the cold front nears. Thunderstorms will again be a possibility, and temperatures could approach 80 degrees in some spots.

Once the front blows by, high pressure will build back in, skies will clear on Thursday, and stay that way through the weekend, if the forecast holds up. But the temperatures will drop Thursday into Friday, with a forecast high of just 60 degrees on Friday, and 59 on Saturday.

By Friday night you'll need those blankets again, as lows drop to the more seasonably cool upper 30s and low 40s.

(SUN PHOTO: Praying for rain on the WeatherDeck, 10/23/10. Frank Roylance)