Forecasters

As if we needed more snow this winter, the National Weather Service has warned that yet another coastal storm could drop winter precipitation on northern and eastern sections of Maryland on Thursday. Winter storm watches calling for 5 inches of snow or more were posted Tuesday from Frederick County eastward and from Calvert County north, plus the Maryland Eastern Shore and all of Delaware. "There is still a high level of uncertainty, some model disagreement, but there is the potential for 7 or more inches of snow" in 24 hours, said Jared Klein, a forecaster at the National Weather Service forecast office in Sterling, Va. "The farther north and east you go, the better likelihood there is. There will be a real sharp gradient [in snow totals]

While a relatively mild Thanksgiving week is expected, colder air is expected to move in for the last few days of the month and the start of December. The Climate Prediction Center in College Park is predicting a 40 percent chance of colder-than-normal temperatures in Maryland from about Nov. 27 to Dec. 3. The center uses overall climate patterns to predict general conditions from as near as about 6 days out to as far as a month or a whole season. The climate indicator known as the North Atlantic Oscillation is expected to turn negative around that time, which means blasts of Arctic air can come southward into the mid-Atlantic and other areas of the U.S. Normal temperatures in Baltimore for early December are highs in the upper 40s and lows around freezing, or just below.

The National Weather Service is calling for Tuesday to be mostly sunny in the Baltimore area, with a high near 94 and south winds around 6 miles per hour. Forecasters warn that isolated thunderstorms are possible Tuesday afternoon and evening and that a few thunderstorms may produce large hail and damaging winds. Tuesday night is expected to be mostly cloudy, with a low around 80 and southeast winds around 7 to 10 miles per hour becoming southwesterly after midnight. There is a 30 percent chance of precipitation.

The federal government's hurricane forecasters urged Americans living in vulnerable coastal regions to prepare for another "above-normal" Atlantic hurricane season. But they acknowledged that scientists still can't predict before the season begins where the storms are most likely to strike. "We are actively working on trying to address the question … about predicting landfalls. It's something we think, with additional research, that we can work on," said NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco.

Patchy fog is possible for much of the day Tuesday in the Baltimore area, with temperatures reaching the upper 40s, according to the National Weather Service. Forecasters expect foggy conditions, or at least mostly cloudy skies as a warm front stalls over the area. That could turn into drizzle by the evening hours and overnight. More rain is in the forecast Wednesday, as are even milder temperatures. Showers are possible throughout the day, with a chance of thunderstorms in the evening.

Clouds and mild temperatures are in the forecast for the Baltimore area Wednesday, with highs near 60 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. Forecasters expect it could be the warmest day of the month, particularly with clouds and fog clearing more quickly than expected by mid-morning, according to a forecast discussion from the weather service's Baltimore/Washington forecast office. The month's high so far was 59 degrees on Feb. 15. A chance of showers was expected to linger into the morning after overnight rains.

As of 11:30 p.m. Sunday, the National Weather Service was calling for the remainder of the evening to be mostly cloudy, with a low around 33 and north winds around 13 miles per hour. Forecasters did not expect the Baltimore metro area to see the winter storm that was affecting Southern states, though the Associated Press reported on a serious accident on Interstate 95 in Prince George's County related to the storm. Monday was expected to be sunny, with a high near 47 and north winds between 9 and 13 miles per hour.