Warmth

Although born in Baltimore, Charlotte Govan is a dyed-in-the-wool California girl. When she moved back to her hometown to take a teaching job in Columbia in 1991, she brought the golden sun of California with her. She basks to this day in its warmth in her Catonsville dream home. "I was looking for houses in the Columbia area, but when I walked in the foyer here, I said, `This is it,'" she said of the two-story, brick townhouse in the neighborhood of Drexel Woods, just south of Woodbridge Valley.

No one is saying that winter is over. But with the official start of spring a month away, temperatures are expected to climb into the 50s over the next few days - so it might begin to feel that way. We could see some snow showers, forecasters say, but the warming trend is supposed to last for at least the next week or so, bringing above-average temperatures to replace the frigid weather of the past month. "Is it going to give us false hope? It might. But the fact is that there's no cold weather expected in the immediate future," said Marisa Ferger, a meteorologist with Penn State Weather Communications Group in State College, Pa. We can expect normal temperatures - that's a high of 45 degrees this time of year - and even some above-normal temperatures for at least the next week, forecasters say. Beyond that, "It's really hard to say how long it's going to last," said Alan Reppert, a meteorologist with Accuweather in State College, Pa. Forecasters blame the cold snap on - and credit this week's warming to - a shift in the jet stream that has kept frigid arctic air in Maryland since mid-January.

Wintertime may not be bargain time in the Caribbean, but the recent cold spell no doubt has many travelers thinking of how sweet it would be to visit one of those sunny islands. Here are some defrosting possibilities: The Bolongo Bay Beach Resort in St. Thomas is featuring a five-night Hibiscus Package for $2,235 per couple through April 15. Guests get beachfront accommodations with balcony views of the Caribbean; champagne and two souvenir flutes; chocolate-dipped fruit and tropical flowers; a $50 resort credit; a his-and-hers half-hour massage; a three-course dinner for two; a sunset cocktail cruise; a scuba lesson; and unlimited use of windsurfers, Sunfish sailboats, kayaks, aqua tricycles and snorkel equipment.

Crocuses and daffodils are popping through the mulch, and there are blossoms on some azaleas, rhododendrons and cherry trees. You might think spring is bursting into bloom across the region. Twenty-four straight days of above-average temperatures, and one of the mildest Baltimore Decembers on record, have confused the dickens out of the plant world. Plant experts say the premature growth is not a danger to the plants and trees, but early blossoms could mean a less colorful show when spring - real spring - arrives in March.

December introduced itself yesterday with record-breaking warmth, blustery winds and a scattering of showers. It also brought an end to a spate of unseasonably mild weather. A huge storm system in the Midwest was to blame, forecasters say. But Maryland was lucky: The region largely escaped the snow that blanketed much of the nation's midsection. "We're on the warm side of this thing, so we're not really going to get anything in the way of winter weather," said Marisa Ferger, a meteorologist with the Penn State Weather Communications Group in State College, Pa. A low-pressure system that marched north yesterday from Texas to Michigan dumped more than a foot of snow in some areas, caused at least three deaths and knocked out power to an estimated two million homes.

WIMBLEDON, England -- Surely Andre Agassi knew, when he announced this would be his final Wimbledon and that his ride into the sunset would set off from the U.S. Open, that the next three months would be one long, nostalgic goodbye party. Yet he still wasn't ready for the first outpouring of love, and it left him yesterday emotionally overwhelmed by a Centre Court audience. "It just sort of added to my nerves," he said after stumbling, righting himself and blazing through young Serb Boris Pashanski, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-3, for his first Wimbledon victory since 2003.

New York -- Fashion Week came to a close last week just as a snowstorm approached to blanket the city. The chilly weather was a fitting end to the eight-day extravaganza of top designers' picks for fall and next winter, which showed us how to go out and brave the cold in style. Here are some of the looks for next season: Coats and wraps From the beautifully embroidered coats at Bill Blass, to the fur-drenched wraps at Zang Toi, to the artfully loose and unstructured numbers at Marc Jacobs, women will have myriad choices as to how to cover up. "You just felt this sense of warmth and coziness and luxury with all the coats," says Dannielle Romano, editor-at-large of DailyCandy.

So far, we've tap-danced around truly brutal winter conditions that cause bones to ache and toes to go numb. But we all know it's out there, somewhere, lurking just behind a high-pressure system. If skiing, snowshoeing or snowboarding are in your plans, make your first layer Duofold's Snowbound High Performance underwear. The pants ($45) and zip-neck top ($43) keep you warm while wicking away sweat to help you avoid a case of the cold clammies. The stuff stretches like crazy and doesn't fall apart in the washer.

In a tiny exhibition of tea implements currently at the Smithsonian's Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., each tea bowl, water jar and utensil carries the substance of wisdom. The pieces are at once rustic and elegant and speak to Kakuzo Okakura's assertions in The Book of Tea, his classic explanation of the tea ceremony's ubiquitous role in Japan. "Teaism," he explains, "is a cult founded on the adoration of the beautiful among the sordid facts of everyday existence." FREER AND TEA: 100 YEARS OF THE BOOK OF TEA / / Freer Gallery of Art, on the National Mall at Jefferson Drive and 12th St. S.W., Washington.

When homeless men and women sign in at the Winter Relief overnight shelter program, they look forward to something almost as important as the hot meals and clean beds provided by the Anne Arundel County churches that participate in the program. On the coldest nights of the year, it's the warmth of companionship that keeps the recipients coming back. Richard Miller, 55, a frequent guest, said: "I come to the shelter because there's more personal contact with the people running it, the food is better, the accommodations are better.