Rain

Explore the rain forests of South America at Delaware Museum of Natural History's "Rain Forest Adventure" exhibition through Jan. 6. The exhibition will allow visitors to learn though activities such as becoming a research assistant, wearing a lab coat, and using microscopes and slides to examine bugs from the rain forest, including a blue iridescent butterfly and other creatures. Via video display, families will meet children who live in the rain forest as they discuss the challenges they face.

No one was going to rain on Betty Paglia's parade Sunday afternoon when she began dancing in the streets. The South Philadelphia woman has attended the Columbus Day parade for 40 years and appeared a natural when Joe "Asti" Pomante, 51, captain of the Durning String Band from Barrington, took her by the hand for a few twirls along South Broad Street. Paglia, 66, and neighbor Millie Aros, 68, live near the parade route, which ran from Morris Street to Oregon Avenue and ended with a festival at Marconi Plaza.

Real fall weather is expected to move in, bringing a steep drop in temperature and threat of rain that could put a cloud over Philadelphia's Columbus Day Parade. Still, there is a good chance most of the festivities will be dry. First: The forecast for today calls for a pleasant day, with a high of 81, and a clear overnight with a low of 60, according to the National Weather Service. Saturday looks to be mostly sunny with a high of 76 and slight chance of showers after 2 p.m. Then, temperatures will drop overnight to 48. Sunday looks to be iffy with showers likely after 2 p.m., and a high of only 55. The parade runs 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. along South Broad Street.

HOMER, ALASKA - Kris Holderied, who directs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Kasitsna Bay Laboratory, says that the ocean's increasing acidity is "the reason fishermen stop me in the grocery store. " "They say, 'You're with the NOAA lab, what are you doing on ocean acidification?' " Holderied said. "This is a coastal town that depends on this ocean, and this bay. " This town in southwestern Alaska dubs itself the Halibut Fishing Capital of the World. But worries about the changing chemical balance of the ocean and its impact on the fish has made an arcane scientific buzzword common parlance here, along with the phrase "corrosive waters.

Rain could fall in the Philadelphia area every day through Monday, suggesting Phillies and Eagles fans should dress accordingly. Temperatures should remain fairly normal for the next week, with highs in the 70s and lows mostly in the upper 50s. Today could be the warmest day for a week, with a high in the upper 70s and a low in the low 60s. The odds of rain vary widely, with the highest at 60 percent for Friday and Friday night. Those are the only periods when rain is considered "likely," according to the National Weather Service.

A cold front could bring some rain and even thunderstorms starting Saturday afternoon. That's the one gloomy stretch in what seems likely to be another week of nice weather, with highs in the 70s under dry skies every day but Saturday. So far, the chance on Saturday seems to be slight for anything like the heavy rain and strong gusts that knocked out power for tens of thousands around the region Tuesday afternoon and evening. In Philadelphia, cloudy but dry skies Saturday morning could last into midafternoon or even evening, when the chance of rain rises to 60 percent.

After a sunny day with a high hear 80, the weather will take a soggy, even stormy turn overnight. By Tuesday afternoon, the rain could begin to get heavy, with possible strong gusts and thunderstorms. Some rain is highly likely - an 80 percent or higher chance at times - from a system that, this morning, was already soaking most of Tennessee, Kentucky and West Virginia. A couple of inches or more of rain could fall in parts of the Philadelphia region by daybreak Wednesday, especially to the north and west of the city.

RICHMOND, Va. - Four-time series champion Jeff Gordon felt his hopes were dead in the water when NASCAR red-flagged his last chance to get into the playoffs because of rain at Richmond International Raceway. His car wasn't running well, and the chance seemed to be slipping away on Saturday night. But just as major adjustments made by his crew started to pay off for Gordon and he began to challenge for the lead, a gamble by Kyle Busch's team failed in the biggest way possible: Gordon, not Busch, grabbed the last spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup - by finishing second in the race to Clint Bowyer - by a margin of just three points.

You didn't have to be Cecily Tynan or Sheena Parveen to know Saturday night's game between the Phillies and Colorado Rockies was in jeopardy before either team arrived at the ballpark. The Phillies waited nearly three hours after the scheduled start time since they undoubtedly didn't want to play a day-night doubleheader Sunday. But when the game was finally postponed at 9:54 p.m., that's exactly what they got. Cole Hamels, Saturday's scheduled starter, will pitch the first game, which will begin at 1:05 p.m. The second game will begin at 6:35 p.m. and the tickets from Saturday night's postponement will be honored then.

NEW YORK - With a potentially dangerous storm bearing down on the U.S. Open, play was suspended in the first set of defending champion Novak Djokovic's semifinal Saturday, making this the fifth consecutive year the tournament will fail to finish on time because of the weather. Djokovic was trailing fourth-seeded David Ferrer, 5-2, after about a half-hour of action when tournament referee Brian Earley came out on court and told the players and the chair umpire that they needed to stop.