Baltimore, get ready to buckle down as turbulent weather rolls through. Today, a warm front is expected to charge northeastwards, closely tailed by a low pressing into the Great Lakes. We've got a weekend of whiplash ahead with a cold front snapping at its heels on Saturday. According to the National Weather Service, Sunday and Monday will settle down as high pressure takes a firm stance from the north. Radar has already picked up a couple of solo showers, too eager to join the fray early this morning in southern Maryland and southern Pennsylvania—quick, light, but certainly not show-stoppers.
Don't get too comfortable, though; the convective models, playing along with the NAM and GFS deterministic, suggest that round two of heavier showers and possibly severe thunderstorms are gearing up to potentially wreak havoc across the region during the heat of midday and the descent of afternoon. The Storm Prediction Center has our region at a slight risk for severe thunderstorms tonight, with damaging wind gusts and large hail jabbing in as the heavy rain. This atmospheric ruckus promises to drench already sodden grounds, spurting out hefty rain with abandon. Round three could try to steal the spotlight later tonight, though without the aid of the sun's firepower, its thunder might mumble a little less fiercely. High temps are forecasted to skate near the 90 mark in eastern stretches, so stay hydrated, folks.
If showers and thunderstorms are your thing, Saturday's forecast claims you won't be disappointed. Slight Risk for Severe Thunderstorms Saturday into Saturday night. Stick around for the high temperatures—they're holding the line in the mid to upper 80s zone before taking a nosedive post-front.
The outlook from Sunday and beyond is less chaotic. Winds, newly hailing from the northwest, will push in with drier, cooler air, fitting right in with the mid-May feel. Anticipate high-fiving highs in the respectable middle 70s. According to the National Weather Service, the aviation sphere should stay relatively clear Sunday onward as high pressure takes the wheel. Sure, northwesterly winds might have the gusto to gust up to 15 knots on Monday, but by Tuesday, they're expected to ease back into a 5 to 10 knots waltz. The caveat? On Tuesday night, showers and thunderstorms may dance at CHO and MRB terminals.
With waters surrounding southern Maryland primed for strong, possibly severe thunderstorms late this evening, mariners are advised to keep a stern eye on the skies. The pre-dawn hours have already played host to a scattering of showers and potential thunderstorms. While such maritime convulsions are forecast to be moderate, goods stored below deck wouldn't suffer for a little extra battening down. Moving into Saturday, the marine forecast warns of possible Small Craft Advisories (SCAs) once the cold front mentioned earlier blows over. After that, comparatively smooth sailing is expected to come Sunday with sub-SCA conditions prevailing as things settle into Monday.
For those along the shoreline, there's a need to heed. Coastal flooding persists at Georgetown, locking the locale in a moderate flood stage embrace until this afternoon's high tide. "A Coastal Flood Warning is in effect for this threat," reminds the National Weather Service.
