Weather

The beautiful weekend weather just couldn't last. While clear, sunny skies remain over New England, a low-pressure system spinning up from the Southeast has brought clouds over the mid-Atlantic. An area of high pressure that dominated from late last week through the weekend is now centered near Maine, slipping off the coast. The area had blocked clouds from moving into the region. "ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END...AND SO WE SAY FAREWELL TO THE FINE WX OF THE PAST FIVE DAYS," National Weather Service meteorologists wrote in a morning forecast discussion.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Todd Pletcher knew there were rumors. He even figured some of them impugned his horses. When you're one of the winningest trainers in the game who just happens to condition a quarter of the Kentucky Derby field, that, he said, "is part of the deal. " Upon hearing the specific rumor concerning Verrazano, the 4-1 second choice on the morning line for Saturday's race, the man worrying about five Derby horses - plus four in the ultra-competitive Kentucky Oaks field Friday - found a reason to smile.

Marylanders will face a couple more days of gloomy weather before things brighten up again toward the end of the week, according to the National Weather Service. On the plus side, the stretch of drizzle and rain should wash away some of the masses of tree pollen that have afflicted allergy sufferers for the past few weeks, weather service meteorologist Greg Schoor said. Schoor said a high-pressure weather system near New England is responsible for the rain and high temperatures in the 60s. "If you can manage through today and tomorrow and even into Wednesday, Thursday and Friday will be a little improvement," Schoor said Monday.

More than 100 gloved volunteers, some in boots and others in waist-high waders, streamed along narrow paths and historic sea walls Saturday in a secluded nook of wetlands just south of Fort McHenry, their eyes scanning for trash or the perfect spot to plant a sapling. The volunteer cleanup and tree-planting event mostly centered on collecting garbage and removing large pieces of driftwood smothering growth areas for grasses. But from time to time, a more novel item turned up. "Here's a tennis ball," said Gail Hoffer, 48, a volunteer from Elkridge, who decided to join the cleanup after getting an email about it from the National Aquarium in Baltimore , where she's a member.

While the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday approved a Senate plan to avoid furloughs of air traffic controlllers, positions responsible for weather observation at BWI Marshall Airport and other airports across the country are at risk. The Federal Aviation Administration is considering cutting what are known as contract weather observers, who supplement automated meteorologic observation at airports around the country. The observers aren't necessarily meteorologists but they can help verify or expand on forecasting data.

A weather system that is spawning severe storms across the southern Plains states is forecast to reach the East Coast on Friday, bringing a chance for strong (but not likely severe) storms here and colder temperatures. The Storm Prediction Center is cautioning of a risk for tornadoes, large hail and damaging winds Wednesday afternoon and evening in parts of Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. Most of Missouri was under a tornado watch as of early Wednesday afternoon. Storm risks are expected to shift eastward Thursday , with the most danger along the Mississippi River Valley.

Maryland skipped over spring and went straight to summer-like weather Tuesday, as a "Bermuda high" system more common to June or July created a chance for record-breaking heat on Wednesday. Temperatures reached 85 degrees at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and 89 degrees in downtown Baltimore on Tuesday. That is 20 degrees above normal, and even more of a departure from what has been a chilly spring - March was, on average, colder than December. The long wait for warmth meant Baltimoreans flocked to the outdoors.

Last December, an American milestone passed virtually unnoticed. Forty years earlier, Harrison Schmitt became the 12th and last person to walk on the moon. Mr. Schmitt and the 11 men who preceded him - beginning with Neil Armstrong in 1969 - had this in common: All were employees of the United States government. Some have argued that sending men to the moon may not have been the most prudent use of American resources or ingenuity. But the realization of President John F. Kennedy's dream of a U.S. moon walk before the end of the 1960s became a symbol of the scientific and imaginative leadership of this country and what Kennedy termed our "freedom doctrine" during the Cold War. Now, the United States has an opportunity, even an obligation, to mobilize its resources and knowhow to achieve a more practical, and pressing, end. Increasingly under siege by destructive and deadly weather events - wrought, many scientists believe, by man-made climate change - we need to make a national commitment to weather research, including the fields of geo-engineering, weather modification and storm mitigation.

Seasonable temperatures with highs around 60 degrees are in the forecast Monday under cloudy skies and with blustery winds, according to the National Weather Service. Lows were expected in the upper 40s early Monday. Winds are expected to be increasing throughout the day to about 15-20 mph by midday and 20-30 mph by the evening. Mostly cloudy skies are expected to clear out as the winds move in. Colder temperatures are then expected to move in as well, with lows early Tuesday in the upper 30s and highs in the upper 40s under sunny skies.

A maritime rescue drill scheduled for Wednesday morning on the Severn River near Annapolis has been postponed because of a small-craft wind advisory, a Coast Guard spokesman said. The drill, involving a 64-foot cabin cruiser in distress and billowing smoke, was to be a training exercise for local Coast Guard units, members of Natural Resources Police, and rescue crews from Anne Arundel County, Annapolis and Kent Island. The National Weather Service has issued an advisory for the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake Bay and the lower tidal Potomac River.