Baltimore residents can expect weather conditions this week, beginning with warmer temperatures and gusty winds today. According to their latest area forecast discussion, the National Weather Service Baltimore MD/Washington DC forecasts an area of high pressure moving off the southeast coast. The uptick in warmth will see highs ranging from the low 40s across the Alleghenies to low 60s in central Virginia, however, the winds could get feisty, gusting up to 40 mph at higher elevations, a precursor to rain that's set to make a comeback late tonight and into Monday.
As we sail through Sunday, Baltimore's day will remain dry before welcoming moisture creeping inland past midnight. This tease of tranquility belies the hustle of a warm front set to lift northward come the morrow, bringing a spatter of rain, with areas of higher elevation potentially flirting with a brief mix of precipitation in the early hours of Monday morning. However, the likelihood decreases as we dream of warmer murmurs on the horizon. Rainfall estimates are measured conservatively, favoring a quarter inch or less for most locales, with mountain regions clocking slightly more generous contributions, "latest guidance continues to hint at a warming trend for that period so the coverage and likelihood continues to decrease," the National Weather Service notes.
Temperatures will oscillate in the spirit of spring, with highs bouncing into the 50s and possibly touching the 60s in parts of central VA. Eyes are on Tuesday when a deep trough invites more showers to dance across the Mid-Atlantic, foretelling a strong southern flow yet keeping the downpour light ahead of a more assertive cold front that sweeps through Tuesday night into Wednesday, compelling the mercury to fall rapidly in its wake.
Cold and brisk is the motif for the latter half of the week as high pressure reasserts control, draped in a chill borrowed from the Arctic; next Saturday night and Sunday could see some precipitation but with a strong cold air resonance, inspiring thoughts of wintry precipitation. Aviation forecasts suggest VFR conditions holding steady today, preempting potential late-night and Monday challenges in visibility and the possibility of gusty winds, particularly on Wednesday in the wake of the frontal passage. Meanwhile, a Small Craft Advisory remains in effect this afternoon, with Gale conditions possibly mid-week for mariners.
