This time of the year the sun makes a BIG difference. Yesterday, with full sunshine, it was a think-about-halloween-costumes-while-picking-apples-and-simultaneously-carving-a-pumpkin kind of day. Today, with thick cloud cover over much of the state, it's a holy-cow-is-summer-really-over-wait-did-my-heat-just-kick-in? kind of day.

The weekend will be a battle of sun vs clouds, but in most locations (read: except Downeast) the sun will be victorious.

Today: A thick deck of low clouds will continue to hang along the coastline, allowing for little sun while keeping temperatures down. The further west you head, the more sunshine you will encounter, eventually reaching clear skies over New Hampshire and northwestern Maine. Temperatures will respond into the mid 60s there but in most other spots I think upper 50s to around 60 will do it for highs. There are some showers being picked up on radar over the Gulf of Maine but these will have a hard time reaching the ground as the air is still pretty dry at lower levels. Eventually the dry air will be saturated and allow showers this evening, but during the day light hours most of us should be all set.

Tonight: The east to west moving front responsible for the day time clouds will push further into Maine this evening and drop some shower activity. Downeast Maine and the Midcoast will certainly get hit by a few rounds of showers but southern coastal Maine should JUST miss the precipitation. Meanwhile the rest of the state will stay dry, far enough away from the front, and experience partly cloudy skies overnight with some patchy fog.

Saturday: Showers will continue over Downeast and northern Midcoastal Maine as the front remains stalled over those areas. A mixture of sun and clouds will be the rule over southern and central Maine, however, making for a decent day. Southern Maine and New Hampshire could actually clear out to mostly sunny skies by noon or so, as the boundary slowly slinks back into the Gulf of Maine. Temperatures should reach the mid to upper 60s away from the showers. Bottom line: A nice day in all but Downeast Maine.

Saturday night: A cold front (this time moving in the more traditional west to east direction) will push through overnight. Showers are possible, especially in the mountains and western Maine, as the boundary slides through the state but the activity doesn't look very heavy so it's no big deal.

Sunday: An early shower will give way to most sunny skies as the cold front pushes offshore, making for a pleasant Sunday. The exception to the rule? You guessed it, Downeast Maine...showers will be scattered through the afternoon as the front lingers a bit.

Monday and Tuesday should both be sunny and pleasant with high pressure regaining control of the Northeast.

So this really happened: For this to make sense I must establish that I'm in a work bowling league (I'm acutely aware of how lame that is, don't worry) that plays against other "Portland Media" such as WGME, WMTW and various newspapers. So last night, in the second frame of a match again WGME, I fell, face first, into the lane after tripping on a rogue sticky spot on my shoes. To make matters worse, the lane was so heavily greased to allow for a smooth bowling experience, that I couldn't stand up so I was forced to crawl backwards on my hands and knees to get back to where you are allowed to tread. Bad news: At least 150 people who saw this happen. Good news: I cleaned my hands off and picked up the spare.

Twitter: @keithcarsonwcsh