For the majority of the east coast, pleasant weather can be expected, with showers finally leaving New England from a system that passes through on Tuesday.  A cold front will begin to dip into the Ohio Valley, with limited shower activity, but breezy conditions behind the front as well as lake-effect snow for portions of Michigan.  Throughout the remainder of the country, very tranquil conditions can be expected with sunny and warm weather in the southeast, mild conditions through the Deep South, and pleasant and near normal conditions through the Plains.  The next system will be moving into the Pacific Northwest, so if you are planning to travel all the way across the country, you could see a few delays.

On to Thanksgiving...

A bit more colorful of a graphic here...how festive!  The cold front is expected to pass through our area during the overnight hours Wednesday into Thursday morning, bringing with it cooler air and breezy northwesterly winds.  Highs on Thanksgiving are currently forecasted to reach the upper 40s.  Lake-effect snowfall will be possible throughout the Great Lakes region, but otherwise the only nasty area of weather remains in the Pacific Northwest.

For Black Friday, sorry no graphic for this day yet, a sprawling area of high pressure will filter in over much of the eastern part of the United States.  That is good news for shoppers, as highs near 50 under partly cloudy skies can be expected locally, with again the only stormy weather expected towards the Pacific Northwest.  We will continue to update this forecast as we get a bit closer in time, but this is a good starting point.  I hope everyone has all of their plans set up!  I think I have a pumpkin pie in my future...

Now Accuweather says there will be closer to 100 meteors per hour, but one of my sources is www.spaceweather.com, which is usally pretty accurate, so anywhere between 30 to 100 may be possible depending on where you are located.  Remember, if you are in the city, the light pollution will have a big effect on how many you will be able to see, so if you want a good show, try to drive to a dark place.

Another good link is the story of the 2009 Leonid Meteor Shower from NASA... http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/10nov_leonids2009.htm

The shower is produced by the Earth moving through the debris stream from Comet Tempel-Tuttle which passes through the solar system every 33 years.  Good luck seeing some tonight, and if you happen to get a picture, send it to iwitness@wjla.com so we can show it on air tomorrow!

Spotsylvania, VA:  5.61"

King George, VA:  5.60"

Lexington Park, MD:  5.28"

Huntingtown, MD:  3.34"

and the winner is...  Leonardtown, MD:  8.01"

This nor'easter has really caused some heavy rainfall across the region this the past couple of days.  There was a big cutoff as well, with much less the further north and west you were.  For instance, DC had just over 2", Loudoun had about 1.5", and Frederick, MD had under an inch of rain over the same time period.  The winds were incredible as well, particularly at the beaches.  Sustained winds to 50 mph were common through the storm, and are still (currently Friday at 5pm) blowing in the 30 to 40 mph range.  Gust there topped 60 mph through the day on Thursday.

With the remnants of Ida and an upper level disturbance coming together from the west, the storm really geared up when it got over the Southeast.  High pressure locked in place over the Great Lakes and New England insured that the low wasn't going anywhere, and really helped strengthen the winds by way of a tight pressure gradient between the high in the low.  Unfortunately, we were right in the middle of the two, which allowed for the Mid Atlantic to really get socked by the storm.

What can we expect now?  The water level will remain high for the next 24 hours near the Chesapeake Bay and Potomac River's western shores.  There are still Coastal Flood Warnings for St. Mary's, Charles and Calvert counties through Saturday night.  Weather will begin to turn for the better tomorrow, with warmer temperatures approaching the 60 degree mark under mostly cloudy skies.  West of the Blue Ridge, there is a much better possibility of some clearing along with warmer temperatures in the mid 60s.  Sunday will be the day to help dry us out and warm our spirits from this damp pattern as highs reach the upper 60s under partly cloudy skies.  Personally, I can't wait just to see the sun again!