Maryland weather: Sunny skies expected Thursday in Baltimore; chance of rain ahead

Another sunny and warm day is expected Thursday in the Baltimore area following heavy midweek rain.

Temperatures are forecast to reach a high of 53 degrees on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service, which expects the sunny day to be accompanied by light winds ahead of the next bout of rain to come Friday afternoon. The coldest air mass so far this winter is expected at the start of next week.

Heavy rain and fast winds on Tuesday caused flooding and power outages, peaking at 60,400 outages affecting Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. customers, the utility said. Most of those outages had been fixed by Wednesday, and about 2,400 customers were still affected by outages Thursday morning.

A chance of rain was forecast to begin after 4 p.m. Friday, possibly totaling between a half and three-quarters of an inch and developing into thunderstorms into the night. The shoreline in Anne Arundel County, which saw heavy flooding Tuesday and Wednesday in Annapolis, is again under a coastal flood watch from late Friday night into early Saturday morning, as the weather service expected an increased threat of moderate tidal floods. Rain is predicted to stop Saturday morning for a long weekend free of precipitation.

January’s precipitation totals for the area, swelled by Tuesday’s rainfall, are already beyond average, though a lack of snowfall this winter could end early next week. Chances of snow are forecast for early Tuesday morning through Tuesday night as cold air moves in, though it’s not yet known how much will fall.