Forecasters at the National Weather Service forecast office in Sterling said it clearly enough this morning: "Our stretch of amazing mid-November weather finally comes to an end tonight."
More than a week of dry skies, with highs in the 60s, ended this morning with morning fog, and the promise of rain for the next couple of days. Dense fog on the Eastern Shore - not uncommon in the fall - caused school delays in several counties. And here on the Western Shore, we're stuck with our own share of patchy morning fog and gray skies.
The cause is the approach of a cold front, and the arrival of increasing moisture from the south and west to replace the very dry air and high pressure that has dominated our weather for so long. That has raised dew points, hence the fog and clouds.
The front is now somewhere in Western Maryland, where some locations are seeing light rain. We may break through to some blue sky today before the front and the rain finally reach us early Tuesday. It will arrive along with a storm brewing today in the Gulf Coast states.
Forecasters aren't entirely sure yet where its track will take it. Some computer models send it east of the Appalachians, and off the coast to Cape Cod. Others (apparently more likely) send it north from the Gulf and west of the mountains, then down the St. Lawrence River.
Either way, though, we're likely to see rain late Tuesday into Wednesday. Forecasters at Sterling are describing it as light to moderate, with gusty winds, especially over the bay. Rain totals could top an inch in some locations.
Behind that we should see winds pick up from the northwest at mid-week, bringing drier air, higher pressure, cooler temperatures and perhaps some flakey stuff in the western mountains. The weekend looks sunny, with highs in the mid-50s.
(SUN PHOTO: Frank Roylance, The Sun's ginkgos, from the newsroom)