Nice for the Stateline

Category 1 Hurricane Irene is churning off the Maryland coast with 80 mph sustained winds tonight.  It is producing a coastal storm surge of between 4 and 5 feet as it moves toward the north northeast at 16 mph.  The low lying coastal areas are especially vulnerable at times of high tides during the next 24 hours.  The hurricane is also producing very heavy rains, and a corridor of 10 to 14 inch rainfalls will occur in a swath just inland of the storms track, so serious flooding will be a problem because those areas already had saturated soils before this storm came along. 
While the east coast has to deal with Irene, the Midwest is having fabulous weather.  High pressure is sitting over northern Wisconsin, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan tonight, and it will move very little the next 24 hours.  Irene has jammed up the atmospheric air flow, and the high will have to wait until Irene moves off to the northeast. With the high dominating area weather, skies will be mostly clear, and a little on the cool side for the next couple of nights with lows in the middle to upper 50's.  Daytime high temperatures will be in the upper 70's to around 80 degrees.  Skies will be mostly sunny during the days through Monday when the high will shift southeast into Indiana by Monday evening, and kick loose into eastern Pennsylvania by Tuesday morning.  That will allow a series of disturbances to move into the Stateline from the west.  With the gulf of Mexico cut off, there will only be slight chances of showers and thunderstorms off and on from Tuesday through Wednesday night.  On Thursday a stronger system to our west will drag a significant warm front though the area bringing heat and humidity back into the Stateline for Thursday and Friday.  High temperatures both days will be in the upper 80s, and may reach 90 degrees on Friday.  A cool front will approach the area on Friday bringing scattered showers and thunderstorms back into the forecast by Friday afternoon.  There will be a good chance of showers and thunderstorms on Friday night and early Saturday ahead of the cool front.  It will become mostly sunny and cooler on Saturday with an afternoon high in the upper 70s.