Milder Weekend Ahead

We finished off February on the chilly side, now March will begin near average and then above average early next week. A weak cold front will slide off the coast Saturday AM. Clouds will decrease with more sunshine by the afternoon with highs in the upper 40's to near 50. Winds will continue to be strong out of the West at 15-20 mph. The West wind will down slope off the Appalachians resulting in the air compressing and warming. A high pressure system moves into the mid-Atlantic on Sunday. Pleasant conditions continue but it will still be a bit below average with highs in the upper 40's. Overall it looks to be a nice weekend with sunshine but a bit breezy. The average high this time of year for Salisbury is 51 degrees. Early next week will see a strong storm system develop over Texas, resulting in some warmer air in our forecast.

Happy Leap Day!

Unofficially, Salisbury dipped to 13° this morning, breaking the old record of 17° from 1980. Wallops Island & Georgetown didn't quite break their records this morning.

Today is also a special day because it's leap day! Some cool stuff is happening. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums have deemed 2008 the year of the frog to bring awareness to amphibian conservation. The National Aquarium in Baltimore has all sorts of stuff going on this weekend, like frog calling and leaping skills. But how about some free food?! If you're a leap year baby, Papa Johns is giving away a free large one-topping Perfect Pan pizza. McDonalds is also giving away free McSkillet burritos with the purchase of a medium/large drink (even if you're not a leap year baby!)

But, do you know why we have leap years? I talked about in yesterday's Weather Matters segment. Here's why...

The actual length of a year is longer than 365 days, it's actually 365.242 days. It takes the Earth 365 days and 6 hours to circle the sun. Leap years occur every 4 years. And once you do some math, 6 hours multiplied by 4 years equals 24 hours or one day; hence why we need a leap day - February 29th. So you can think of leap year as a correction factor, correcting the time it takes Earth to make one revolution.

But why go through such complication?? Basically to keep the calendar consistent with earth's journey around the sun. The goal is to keep the vernal equinox on or close to March 21, so that Easter remains close to the vernal equinox. By the way, an equinox is when the center of the Sun is directly above the Earth's equator. Day and night will be nearly the same length. Have a great leap day!

Record Temperatures Likely

Unfortunately I am not talking about record warm temperatures, but you know it is cold out. Record lows will be broken over Delmarva tonight (Thursday night/Friday AM). Forecast lows are 15-20 with colder temperatures in the normally colder spots. Here are some record lows for 2/28:
Georgetown: 12
Salisbury: 17
Wallops Island: 20

There is some relief on the way as 50's and maybe even some 60's return in the forecast for next Monday and Tuesday. But looking farther down the road, there might be another pattern change which may bring in some colder air for the end of next week. We'll see. Stay warm for now and remember it is almost March, where the weather can get crazy. It seems like one day it can be 70 degrees and then next day is cold and snowing during the month. March is definitely one of the toughest months to forecast, especially on Delmarva.

It's cold outside!

Hello old man winter! As of noon, Salisbury's wind chill is 18°! An arctic air mass has taken control of basically the eastern half of the country. There are actually freeze warnings in effect for parts of Florida! Take care of those oranges! And if you thought this morning was cold, just wait for tomorrow morning. Our lows tonight will dip into the teens and even the lower teens in Salisbury! But like Justin said below, there is a warm up for the weekend and especially early next week. Bundle up!!
Tomorrow, I'll talk about leap years...

Brief Arctic Air Mass

The big weather story right now is the cold air heading our way, so I guess I have to talk about it briefly. Cold weather fans, this forecast is for you. A deep trough in the jet steam has developed over the East allowing an arctic air mass to spill out of Canada into the mid-Atlantic. The good news is that it will be short-lived once again. This has been the trend all winter season. The overall weather patterns have been fairly progressive so that has not allowed a prolonged period of cold air to hang around. So the trend continues as highs will only be in the 30's for one day. Then the jet stream slowly retreats back northward and mild air returns for early next week.

Cooler weather returns, pt. 2

The cold front passed through last night and cooler weather was filtered into the area. This morning at 1am, Salisbury's temp was 49°. Now we have fallen to 40° with a wind chill of 33°. At noon, Salisbury is 12° cooler than noon yesterday. Even though the surface cold front passed, the upper level trough is still digging into the Mid Atlantic states and that is why the clouds are still hanging around (like what Justin said below). As the trough begins to push through the area, we may see some snow/rain showers this afternoon. Little to no snow accumulation expected. The coldest day arrives tomorrow with highs only reaching the mid to upper 30's with a breeze making it feel even colder. Thursday night into Friday looks to be the coldest night with temps dipping into the teens. Thursday will overall be a much below normal for this time of year.
Good news though, the cold spell is short lived with a warm up coming heading into the weekend. Highs on Friday will rebound to the mid 40's and temps will reach the mid 50's early next week! Bundle up!

Cooler and Dry weather returns

It was a nice mild day today as high temperatures climbed to the upper 50's in some spots today. There wasn't a whole lot of rain to talk about today as most of the heavy showers missed Delmarva. The highest amounts were from Kent County, DE and Queen Anne's County, MD with around .30 inches of rain. Elsewhere across Delmarva, most areas received around .10 inches or less.

A cold front will slide through tonight bringing drier but cooler temperatures. typically we see lots of clearing begin a frontal passage but not this time. We will have some clearing tonight and tomorrow but skies will not be mostly sunny until Thursday. Even through we had the front pass at the surface, we still need the upper-level component of the storm to pass by. This upper level trough has a good amount of energy with it, so there will still be enough vertical motion to develop clouds as the morning progresses on Wednesday. High pressure builds back in at the surface for Thursday with a cold air-mass in place. Highs on Thursday will only be in the 30's. We should have highs around 50 degrees this time of year.

A little rain is coming

Thanks to a dry layer right above the surface, a lot of the rain that has been showing up on the radar has not actually been hitting the ground. As of 11am, Dover was the only station reporting light rain. Eventually as the system moves closer we will see some rain showers develop, especially this afternoon into this evening. Like Justin said, rainfall amounts won't be that great, up to .5" in localized spots. The biggest story with this system will be the return of cooler weather and the breezy conditions that have already begun across the area. Wednesday will be cooler with gusty winds but Thursday will be the coldest day with highs only reaching the mid 30's.

Wet Weather Returns

Well after a brief dry and pleasant past couple of days we return to wet conditions. The overall weather pattern remains progressive so another will track into the Ohio Valley on Tuesday. This track scenario will result in a warmer solution so there will be no threat of wintry weather on Delmarva. This storm has much less moisture than the last and will be a fast mover. The latest model runs show various rainfall amounts around Delmarva. Now they show anywhere from around .10 -.50 inches with highest amounts South and East Delmarva. There is a chance of some heavier showers so locally higher amounts are possible. The best chance for showers look to occur in the afternoon ending in the evening. Then colder and drier air returns for Wednesday and Thursday.

Weather Ride

What a difference a few hundred miles makes. I drove to New Jersey on Friday and it was interesting to see how Friday's storm hit each region. By the time I left Salisbury, we were just seeing a cold rain/drizzle. Crossing into Delaware, I saw trace amounts of snow on the ground that quickly grew into snow completely covering the ground north of Dover. That continued to grow into a few inches and by the time I reached my destination, there was about 8-10" of snow on the ground! Definitely an awesome sight, at least for snow lovers like myself!
Now let's fast forward to today. Lots of clouds to start today as an upper level disturbance passed through the area. As of 10-11am, the sun's starting to peek out and overall it's turning out to be a pretty nice day. This calm weather will stick around until Tuesday afternoon, when a cold front will bring a chance of rain and cool us down for the middle part of the week.

Red Flash Above a Thunderstorm

Have you ever seen a flash of red light above a thunderstorm? Chances are you have not, but if you have, you weren’t seeing things!

According to http://sky-fire.tv, scientists have observed this phenomenon since 1886, but it was not until 1989 that it was actually discovered. John R. Winckler, a physics professor for the University of Minnesota, and two of his graduate students, were testing a camera for a research rocket. They captured “two giant columns of light towering high above distant thunderstorms.” This phenomenon is now called a sprite, named after the mythical creature since scientists didn’t quite understand what caused this strange event at the time.

Sprites normally start about 45 miles high, can extend as high as 60 miles and may be as low as 15 miles. They are normally red, but sometimes they can be blue! A single sprite can be as tall as 45 miles and as wide as 10 miles. Sometimes there may even be a group of sprites.

According to the American Meteorological Society glossary, a sprite only last a few milliseconds, so this is an event you could miss with the blink of an eye! Sprites aren’t the only phenomenon that occur above a thunderstorm, there are also blue jets, pixies, elves, trolls and gnomes!

Sources:
http://www.ametsoc.org
http://sky-fire.tv
http://ufologie.net/htm/sylphes.htm

Saturn Gets Close to Earth

If anyone likes to look into space, this weekend may be a great time to pull out that telescope. This weekend, Saturn will be making its closest approach to Earth for the year of 2008. Saturn will only be 770 million miles away from our planet. According to www.spaceweather.com, “Look straight up at midnight for the golden planet hanging next to the bright start Regulus.”

Fri Snow Amounts

What Kira mentioned about today’s storm ended up being what was forecasted. Most of the problem spots were in the Northern areas, as expected. Salisbury did get some light snow from after 2 AM but nothing accumulated here. There was some accumulation to the North and West of Salisbury though. Far Northern areas such as Kent County, DE, Queen Anne's and Caroline counties received 1-3 inches of snow. The highest amount that I have seen reported was Dover AFB with 3 inches. Areas across Southern Delaware and Dorchester counties had about a trace to maybe 1 inch in some spots. Like Kira said, drier weather returns for the weekend with more sunshine for Sunday but temperatures still remain below average. More wet weather is on the way for Tuesday but in the form of liquid.

Improvement from here...

A rough start this Friday morning with snow, sleet, freezing rain, and rain all being reported. Thankfully, the bulk and worst of the storm seems to be over and now we'll deal with periods of rain for the rest of the day. There still is a winter weather advisory in effect for the following counties: Kent, DE, Queen Anne's, Talbot, and Caroline counties in MD until 4 pm this afternoon. Also, Sussex County in DE is also under a winter weather advisory until 1pm this afternoon. Reports are limited as of now, but Cambridge did pick up 1" of snow before the transition to frozen precip and then to rain. Here in Salisbury, the bulk of the precip was a cold rain mixing with some freezing rain. It seemed that everything other than the roads were covered in a thin layer of ice. Most of that has melted thanks to the plain rain that is falling now. It looks like we'll enter into a dry slot for part of the afternoon before another round of showers will approach later. A big improvement though as we head into the weekend with sunshine returning for Sunday. Take it easy on the roads! Have a great weekend!

Tricky Friday AM Commute Possible

As Kira mentioned in the post below, more wintry weather on the way for Friday AM, with the Northern areas impacted the most. So here is a quick update and not much has changed. A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for the Northern and Central counties of Delmarva. A light snow, sleet, freezing rain mix will develop in the pre-dawn hours on Friday with a quick changeover to plain rain South to North by mid-morning. The Northern areas will be locked into some colder air longer so the changeover will take longer to occur, probably by late morning.

The best chance for a snow and sleet accumulation would be up North in Talbot, Caroline, Queen Anne's, and Kent county, DE, where 1-2 inches is possible. Central areas may see a coating to an inch, with just plain rain to the South and East. Timing will be a big player for the winter precip. If everything starts earlier, then there is a better chance for accumulations. If it takes longer for the moisture to reach the ground, the less chance for accumulation and frozen precip, as temperatures will be warmer. Remember the worst type of wintry precip is freezing rain, it only takes a light glaze of ice to cause travel problems.

Winter Storm

One storm moved away, now another is headed towards us. The cold air that we're seeing today is only setting the stage for wintry precip Friday morning. Basically, it looks to start as some light snow after midnight possibly leaving a light accumulation, then transition to a mix of sleet/freezing rain later Friday morning and then to all rain by Friday afternoon. The wintry weather looks to stick around N. Delmarva for a little while longer, so I wouldn't be surprised if some sort of winter weather advisory is issued there. Warmer air at the surface and aloft will move in for the afternoon allowing the transition to rain. It looks like Friday morning's commute could be a little tricky because of slick roads. There may be more delays tomorrow morning. We'll keep you posted with the latest information...

Wednesday night snow

Today's clipper system tracked far enough to the South to provide cold enough temperatures to support snow. Right now the snow has ended across the Upper Shore counties and Central and Northern Delaware. A heavier snow band set up across the Upper MD shore and Kent county, DE county for much of the afternoon. That prompted a Snow Advisory into the evening for those areas for 1-2 inches of snow, with isolated higher amounts. There was an impressive unofficial report of 5" in Stevensville, MD in Queen Anne's county. I haven't heard or seen any other reports at this time. It's still snowing in Salisbury but it is light enough for it to melt on most of the streets. However temperatures will drop through the 20s tonight allowing for standing water to freeze and cause black ice. So the kids may get lucky tomorrow with possible delays due to icy spots.

I checked the latest satellite image for any breaks in the clouds to view the eclipse tonight. Right now the clouds look pretty overcast even up in the Northern areas where the snow stopped. But there did look like there were a few breaks in the clouds to the Northwest. Hopefully, there will be some breaks in the clouds, at least in the Northern areas for eclipse viewing. Just keep your eye in the sky until midnight tonight for a chance to see it.

Snow's Coming & the moon's changing colors!

First, cool post about the President's Day Storm of '79...Good job Justin! Well it pales in comparison, but some light snow is headed our way today. A weak clipper system will pass overhead this afternoon/evening providing us with some rain/snow. Northern Delmarva may see up to an 1", maybe a little more, while the rest of us should get less. The system is a quick mover, so the snow should be over by 8pm or so. Then clouds will begin to decrease as a cooler and dryer airmass takes over. But it will be a race against time to see which happens first, the clouds break up or the total eclipse ends.
Tonight from 10pm-10:52 there will be a total eclipse of the moon. The entire process of an eclipse will last from approximately 8:43 - midnight, but the total eclipse only occurs for that hour. Hopefully the clouds will break up because it should be a beautiful sight...an orange/reddish moon!! Try to head out and just look at the moon and see if you can see it! Let me know and take some pics too!! I'll talk more about lunar eclipses tomorrow on the morning show with Weather Matters. Good luck!!

Presidents Day Cyclone

A high temperatures of 67 yesterday, 49 today and 10 inches of total snow brewing on these days, 29 years ago.

The “Presidents Day Cyclone” of 1979 not only dropped a total of 10 inches of snow in Salisbury, Md., but it coated Washington, D.C. with 18.7 inches of snow, Baltimore, Md. with 20 inches of snow and Dover, Del. with 25 inches. Articles posted in papers in New York state had titles from “Sneak Storm Cripples City” to “Forecasted didn’t get the drift until too late.” Some forecasters only forecasted 3 to 5 inches of snow, while others forecasted two to four inches! It was a surprise to all.

The images above are a few graphics I found while researching this event. The first image is taken from http://www.extrememortman.com/washington-dc/happy-presidents-day/. It is an image of the snow that fell in Washington, D.C. I guess it is a good thing it was a holiday and everyone didn’t have to make it to work! The second image is a visible satellite image taken from: http://www.hurricanes-blizzards-noreasters.com/79blizzard.html. If you didn’t know what time of year this picture was taken, you may mistake it for a hurricane headed towards Delmarva and New Jersey with its distinct eye.

BUT: If you think the 10 inches of snow that fell the on these days in 1979 was a lot of snow, people in Algeria were seeing their first snow fall at the same time! Yes, on February 18, 1979, snow fell for a half-hour in the Saharan Desert.

Additional Sources:
http://www.theweathercompany.com/cgi-bin/wxnotebook.pl
“Freaks of the Storm” by Randy Cerveny

Roller coaster Weather

The roller coaster weather ride continues. Yesterday we were just shy of 70° for our high and then the cold front pushed through, putting an end to the warmth. Reagan Airport in DC reported 79° at 3pm. The cold front then swung through and then the temp dropped to 52° at 4pm...that's a 27° temp drop in one hour!! Impressive! How about this...in that same hour, the airport went from a heat index of 81° to a wind chill of 47°!!
Even cooler weather is headed our way for Thursday as a couple more cold fronts come sliding through the area. We may even see a little snow Wednesday evening as the second cold front pushes through. Highs on Thursday will only be in the mid 30's...a blast of unseasonably cold weather! That cold air makes for an interesting situation heading into Friday. A low pressure system will develop over the MS Valley and then track NE. If it's holds off long enough for the warm air to arrive, it will just be another rain event, but if precip starts Friday morning, we could see some mixed precip and maybe some freezing rain. It's still too far away to pinpoint the details, but definitely something to watch in the coming days. We'll keep you posted!

More Spring Weather

When I think about weather around Presidents Day I automatically think of snowstorms. There have been some notable Winter storms to hit the mid-Atlantic and Northeast this time of year. My latest memory goes right to the storm in 2003 that was mentioned in the post above. I was a junior in college and we received 2 feet of snow, and had a few days off from school. I remember parking my car under a parking garage so I didn't have to shovel my car out. My roommates didn't, so I helped them shovel theirs anyway.

No chance of any snow this year with a mild pattern in place today. Strong Southerly winds ahead of a cold front boosted high temperatures today in the upper 60s across the inland area. Georgetown had a high of 69 and Salisbury reached 67, with the average temp being 48 for this date. The front is now offshore but when it came through this evening, there was a line of heavier showers and perhaps a few rumbles of thunder was heard. These heavier showers came through Delaware and Northern MD with Eastern Sussex and Worcester counties hit the hardest.

The air mass is now drying out but cooler air is moving in as winds switched out of the NW. Expect sun and clouds tomorrow with a slight chance of stray shower as a second cold front comes through. A fast moving clipper type system then comes through on Wednesday evening. These systems tend to bring snow showers to our areas this time of year, but it looks like temps will be too warm and we should just see rain showers. Maybe far Northern areas could see a few flakes if enough cold air can arrive in time. Temperatures remain at or below average for the rest of the week.

Happy President's Day

President's Day...may not mean much to the average person, but to weather fanatics it means, The President's Day Storm, or The Blizzard of 2003. So here's a look back at one of the most historical snow storms to ever hit the East Coast.
My personal twist on the story...I was a freshman in college when the storm struck and I remember being off of school for days. That was very uncommon for my school because I don't think they had ever canceled classes before.
Here's some statistics...
- It lasted from February 14 to the 19, 2003.
- It produced record-breaking snow totals from Washington DC to Boston.
- It caused over $14 million in damages and over 20 people died from the storm.
- Many school districts were closed for at least a week.
- It really was a crippling storm, especially with transportation.
- Washington DC's Reagan National Airport, BWI, Philly, and LaGuardia in NYC were all completely shut down.
The snow started falling locally on the 16th. Heavy snow was reported falling at rates of up to 4 inches an hour! It was Baltimore's biggest snowstorm on record with 28.2 inches of snow. In Garrett County, Maryland, which is in the far western portion of the state, up to 36 inches of snow fell. Washington DC was also slammed by 16 inches of snow. That's the sixth-largest storm in the capital's history. A Washington suburb reported snow that was 25 inches deep. States of emergency were declared for West Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
Thankfully we weren't dealing with that this year! Have a great day!

Sunday severe weather

A few more comments on previous blog, “Any rumbles of thunder Sunday night?”

This storm system has brought severe weather to many areas. For Saturday, a total of six tornadoes were reported, along with hail and wind reports. Tornadoes touched down in Louisiana, Texas and Alabama, fortunately only property damage resulted from these tornadoes, no injuries or deaths have been reported. The weather has been more active for Sunday. As of 9 p.m. there have been 29 tornado reports, along with hail and wind reports. Tornadoes have touched down in Florida, Alabama and Georgia. Unfortunately, there was one injury in a mobile home park in Taylor, Ga. Only a trace of rain has been reported for Salisbury, but the heavier rain is on the way. A hazardous weather outlook has been issued for Southern Delmarva, with gusty winds and a thunderstorm possible.

Any rumbles of thunder Sunday night?

As our next storm system approaches from the Midwest, it is causing some severe weather. So far for Saturday night, reports of hail have come out of Texas and Oklahoma and even a tornado in Louisiana. A slight risk for severe weather remains in place tomorrow, but mainly for areas of Florida, Alabama and Georgia. While we aren’t in the risk for severe weather, there is a chance as that system approaches, we could hear a few rumbles of thunder! Right now rain totals look like they will be ranging from about 0.5” to 1.5” of rain. While there is a slight chance for a shower earlier in the afternoon, I think all of the rain will hold off until everyone is home in bed, very late Sunday night into early Monday morning! Just be prepared Monday morning. You will probably need that umbrella when you head to work!

A brief dry period, then more rain

What a nice day today across Delmarva with sunshine and highs ranging from 55-60 degrees. Today would have been a good day to wash your car and get rid of the salt residue from Thursday morning. However, some changes are taking place right now, at least with the temperatures. Right now we have a weak and dry cold front sliding across the mid-Atlantic. It is moving very slowly tonight but will push off the coast early Saturday morning. Current temperatures right now on the shore are in the 40's but West of the Appalachians, temps are in the 20's. By tomorrow, cold air will work its way to the coast with highs only in the 30's and 40's. High pressure will dominate the mid-Atlantic tomorrow keeping us dry and sunny.

On Sunday a large storm system will develop over the South Central U.S. and track into the Ohio valley. There may be some sunshine through early afternoon on Sunday, then clouds will increase through the night. Highs on Sunday will rise into the 50's later in the day. Right now it looks like the rain showers will begin late Sunday night and continue through Monday afternoon. As with most of the big storms this Winter season, strong southerly winds will develop and mild air will move into Delmarva as the storm approaches. Highs on Presidents' Day will be in the 50's and even some 60's are possible if the low level Southerly flow is strong enough. Right now models are not in agreement on rainfall amounts. The GFS model is showing around .40 inches of rain while the WRF model is showing anywhere from .50 - 1.50 inches across Delmarva. I'm sure these amounts will change a bit in the next few model runs but the WRF model did a better job on rain amounts with last Wednesday's rain amounts. Have a great Holiday Weekend!

White Valentine's Day

Many areas of Delmarva woke up today to see the ground white with a fresh blanket of wet snow, with varying amounts throughout the shore from a trace to 2.5 inches. Or you may have just woken up to your kids celebrating that they had off from school. I was impressed with what actually fell last night. At my house, I would say there was over two inches on the ground. It looks to me that Wicomico and Worcester counties seemed to be hit the hardest.

We did have snow in the forecast but we were expecting around an inch or less. The evolution and track of an upper-level low pressure area came together perfectly to drop as much snow as it could across the shore. The whole snow event only lasted about 3-4 hours, depending on where you live. If you went to bed before 2am and slept in past 6am, you probably missed seeing the snowfall. So areas that received more than 2 inches from this event in that short amount of time, had to have moderate to heavy snow occurring. At least the sun was out all day to melt the snow and ice quickly. But still beware of patchy areas of black ice tonight and Friday morning.

Here are some snowfall amounts from around the shore.
Riverdale (WMDT weather watcher) - 1.0"
Sharptown (WMDT weather watcher) - 1.0"
Millsboro (WMDT weather watcher) - 1.0"
Salisbury (Airport) - 1.5"
Salisbury (3.7 miles SSE, weather observer) - 2.0"
Southern Wicomico County (weather observer) - 2.3"
Church Creek (weather observer) - 2.0"
Princess Anne (weather observer) - Trace
Berlin (weather observer) - 2.5"
Ocean City - 1.5"
Wallops Island (weather observer)- 0.7"
Cambridge (weather observer) - Trace

SNOW!!

What a crazy 24 hours it has been?! First it was heavy rain, then warm temperatures, then colder temps, then snow! Salisbury and Wallops Island both broke records yesterday with rainfall totals, 1.71" and 1.45" respectively. Salisbury's current drought in 2008 was cut in more than half just by yesterday's rain! Hooray farmers!
Now onto the snow... Salisbury officially got 1.5" and Cambridge only received a trace. I'm hoping more official snow reports come in this afternoon.
Here's my personal twist on snow...I woke up at 2 am and looked outside and it wasn't snowing. I got ready for work, left the house shortly before 3 am and discovered that in that short time, my car, the sidewalk, the roads, everything was covered by about 1/4" of snow! It was a wet, heavy snow that made my drive to work anything but easy...it also didn't help that no salt/sand and no plow trucks were out to clean the roads!
Well now we can all relax and enjoy the sunshine today! It's still cold outside and the NW winds make it feel even colder, but at least the sun's out. Temps will warm up for Friday and then cool right back down for Saturday. Then get ready for more rain Sunday night into Monday morning.
As a side note, any water left on the roads will refreeze tonight possibly making Friday morning's commute just as bad as today's. We'll have to keep an eye on how much of it evaporates first though. Maybe salt will even be put on the roads for tonight...

Cooler weather returns

Plenty of rain and mild temperatures were the rule for today but now the cold returns. Highs today reached the lower 60's in some areas, I was not surprised since there was a strong surge of low level Southerly flow. Then the cold front came through late this afternoon and knocked temps back. Rainfall amounts are ranging anywhere from 1 to over 2 inches and it is still raining out.

Current radar observations are showing another batch of showers developing over South Central VA, and Northeast NC, associated with a upper-level trough passing through. On the backside of this precip area, it has turned to snow. Winter Weather Advisories have been hoisted for parts of Southern MD and Central VA for around 1-2 inches of snow. It is possible that we see a quick round of snow or snow showers, if enough cold air filters into the shore at the surface, when the upper-trough passes through. If any accumulation does occur on Delmarva, it should be and inch or less, mostly on the grass and car tops, since it will be a wet snow. Also temperatures will drop to or below the freezing mark in some areas towards daybreak, so some patchy icy conditions are also possible too, due to the recent water on the roads. We will then see the sun return for Valentines Day with dry conditions. have a great night!

A little bit of everything today

What a wake up call this morning...I stepped out the door into temperatures that were around 60°! Thanks to a warm front, the day started and has stayed incredibly warm. But what a big difference 30 or 40 miles makes? At 3 am this morning, Salisbury was 58° and Cambridge was 36°! The warm front didn't quite make it that far west and it doesn't look like it's going to before the cold front sweeps through tonight.
If the warm temperatures weren't a wake up call, what about the heavy rain?! From 11 am to noon, Salisbury picked up 0.56" of rain...that's pretty heavy rain (but you probably knew that if you were out driving in it like I was). As of 11 am, Melfa had picked up 1.87" of rain since yesterday afternoon. Semi good news for the drought, but unfortunately a lot of the real heavy rain just runs off before it has a chance to soak into the ground...but rain is rain and we'll take it!
From here the heavy rain looks to be over for now, but there will still be light scattered showers. After midnight tonight, it looks like we may even see some snow. There's still some uncertainty but as the upper trough moves through tonight, it may be strong enough to spark some showers and since our temperatures will be colder, those showers will be snow. As of now, it only looks like a light accumulation, about an 1" or less, but it is something that we definitely need to keep our eye on.
Much quieter weather will prevail for Valentine's Day. The morning will be cloudy and cold, but that will give way to sunny skies in the afternoon. We then turn our eyes to the next system, Sunday night into President's Day, but this one also looks like just a rain event (nothing like 5 years ago...) Stay tuned!

Rainy and Mild Wednesday

Some interesting weather going on tonight. There was a Winter Weather Advisory for Northern Delaware and the Northern Upper MD shore earlier tonight for some sleet and freezing rain as temperatures were slightly below freezing for a few hours. As I am writing this at 10:30pm temperatures have risen to 54 in Salisbury but is still only 38 in Dover. Temperatures will keep on rising through the 50's overnight as a warm front moves through.

A cold front with a few areas of low pressure will track East on Wednesday. Plenty of Gulf of Mexico moisture is riding along the front and head towards the East Coast. Right now, models are showing the potential for around 1-2 inches of rainfall. The amounts will be determined where exactly the axis of heavy rain lines up along the front and where the areas of low pressure track. Highs on Wednesday will be mild in the mid to upper 50's. The rain looks to taper off during the evening hours.

Cold air returns behind the front for Wednesday night along with the passage of the upper-level portion of the system. As the upper level-trough moves through Wednesday night, it could be strong enough to develop a period of wet snow with some light accumulation possible, especially on grass and car tops after midnight, if enough cold air pushes in behind the front. This will have to be watched through the day on Wednesday.

Have a good night!

20's one day, 50's the next

Well our next system is right on our doorstep. The clouds quickly moved in last night making this morning's commute not quite as frigid as Monday morning's. Temps are still chilly though. As of noon Salisbury was only in the mid 30's. But like Justin said below, warmer air will push into the region tonight. Wednesday looks damp but mild, with highs reaching the low 50's.
As far as precip goes, one round of snow showers already pushed through the area this morning, but the lower layers of the atmosphere were too dry for much of it to make it to the ground. That won't be the case for very long though. As the storm nears and a warm front lifts through the area tonight, it will bring with it a better chance for showers. The best chance of rain looks to arrive on Wednesday as several lows surround the area and the cold front passes through. There may be some wrap around moisture Wednesday night that may mix with a little snow, but it looks pretty limited as of now with westerly winds combating that by drying us out.
The storm system exits the region allowing sunshine to return for Valentine's Day...so no reason to cancel those plans!

Milder Air Returns

Good evening!! It's hard to believe that after reaching the mid 70's last Wednesday, today's highs were one of the coldest of the Winter season. Across the shore, high temperatures ranged from the mid 20's in the North and lower 30's in the South. In Salisbury, the high reached 29 which tied the coldest high temeperature of this Winter season (29 degrees on Jan 21) in Salisbury, despite mostly sunny skies. It could be worse though, there have been a few days in the past during February that highs only 15 degrees. Days like today make me start thinking about summer. But as Kira mentioned in the post below, the very cold air will last only for one day.

After another very cold night tonight, the Arctic air mass will be pushed out by a developing storm system over the Central U.S. Temperatures will still be chilly on Tuesday but not near as cold with highs around 40. A strong push of milder air will begin Tuesday night with rising temperatures into the 50's overnight Tuesday into Wednesday. I expect the high temperature for Tuesday to occur near midnight on Tuesday night. Along with the mild air Tuesday night and Wednesday, expect a good chance for rain, as a cold front crosses the area Wednesday. Right now, models are indicating over 1/2 inch of rain. Amounts will be determined on the speed of the storm system and the locations of the waves of low pressure along the front. So umbrellas will be needed for Tuesday night and Wednesday as rain chances look very good.

Have a good night!

Welcome Back Winter

Oh how quickly the weather changes... This past Sunday my boyfriend and I decided to head to the beach. When we got there, it was a little breezy and cool, but the sunshine made up for it. While we were there though, the weather completely changed. The cold front pushed through with some impressive and beautiful-looking clouds and the winds picked up. It was as if on the drop of a hat, the winds started blowing the sand out to sea and the temperature dropped! On a side note, I did stick my foot in the ocean water...I have a whole new respect for people who participate in the Polar Bear Plunge!! All I can say is, BRRRRR!!! And here we are today with wind chills in the single digits and teens and actual air temperatures in the mid to upper 20's! Gives a whole new meaning to, "what a difference a day makes." But don't worry, the cold spell will only last one day with warmth (more seasonable) temperatures arriving for Tuesday.

Wind Chills

There were very chilly temperatures today to our northwest and we will start to see those cold temperatures tonight, however not only are we witnessing cold temperatures, it is quite breezy. Today in Salisbury we saw sustained winds up to 30 mph and wind gust up to 40 mph, but to our west, people may not have wanted to leave there homes in some areas. Chicago saw temperatures throughout the day around 0 degrees, making it as low as -2 degrees, with winds above 20 mph. A temperatures of 0 with winds at 20 mph makes it feel like -22 degrees! Winds can make conditions very dangerous when it is already cold. At a wind chill of -18 degrees it only takes 30 minutes to get frostbite. Once those wind chills hit -32 degrees you can experience frost bit in only 10 minutes and in 5 minutes with a wind chill of -48 degrees.

Hold on to your Hat!

As a second cold front moves through Delmarva on Sunday, we are expecting to see very breezy conditions. We are not taking about wind gust of 30 mph winds, the winds are expected to be sustained at 25-35 mph with gust up to 45 mph! With winds like this we will be close to tropical storm strength winds, which are sustained at 39-73 mph.

On another note, this front is also bringing in a very dry, arctic air mass. Relative humidities could be as low as 15 to 30% for Accomack county, which puts them in a Fire Weather Watch for Sunday.

This weather will be interesting, hold on to things when you are outside and be safe driving, crosswinds may make driving conditions dangerous.

Quiet Start but Cold Finish to the Weekend

A bit of a cool first half of today but then the sunshine broke out this afternoon and turned out to be a nice finish of a day. A upper-level disturbance passed though this morning producing clouds and was strong enough to trigger off a few light rain showers. Only about a trace in the locations that saw the showers.

Weak high pressure will keep conditions quiet tonight and for much of Saturday before a cold front swings through Saturday night. There will only be partial sunshine on Saturday but stronger South winds will kick in to boost highs into the low to mid 50's for the inland locations. Again, there could be a isolated shower as the front approaches late in the afternoon and evening, especially Northern areas.

Now for the bad news if you don't like cold weather. A secondary Arctic cold front will slide on through Sunday morning. This front will come through dry but usher in some cold air. Now there is some good news if you don't like the cold, it will be a brief chill only for a couple days. Sunday morning is probably when we see our highs for the day in the low 40's, depending on the exact time of the frontal passage. Then temperatures drop through the day with windy conditions. Sunday nights low will drop into the teens in many areas with highs on Monday only in the 30's. Temperatures then return to average levels on Tuesday.

I guess one can say that this is a reminder that Winter is certainly not over yet.
Also, this weekend marks a historical snowfall for Salisbury, MD. Salisbury received 11 inches of snow on Feb 9-10, 1967. Enjoy the weekend!

Mother Nature's Fury

I hate to continue the discussion on the tornado outbreak in the South just a few days ago, but Mother Nature's strength continues to amaze me! I was reviewing the storm reports from SPC's (Storm Prediction Center) site and came across some very interesting ones.

- In Tennessee seven tractor trailers were blown over. It's one thing to feel the wind pushing your car, but can you imagine having such strong winds that they can just push over a tractor trailer like it's a toothpick?!?

or what about...

- A roof was blown off the Pinnacle Airline Hanger at Memphis International Airport and the airstairs were moved 100 yards. Okay, those are pretty strong winds, but...it also moved a 737 airplane a foot! If you've ever flown, you know how big those planes are...now *that* is impressive.

I've never actually seen a tornado. A few tornadoes have hit around my hometown in Western Pennsylvania, but I've never actually experienced it. This may sound weird, but I'm hoping that will change. It is and will always be a lifelong passion of mine to go storm chasing, at least once. Only time will tell!

Weather History

It was hard to believe it was the month of February the last couple days with highs in the 70's, but it is still Winter any I'm sure many of you are still thinking snow. I got an email today about a couple historical snowstorms from Ken, a former weather watcher for WMDT who has moved from Ridgely, MD to Cumberland MD. Ken did his research and talks about this year being the 50th Anniversary of the Twin Snowstorms of 1958. I'm sure some of you remember these storms. Ken, remember being off from school for a week for each storm. I'm sure he had no complaints from that.

The first storm occurred on Feb. 15-17, 1958. The original forecast for Baltimore called for 1-3 inches but a band of 15-20 inches fell from D.C. through Baltimore county. On Delmarva, the lower shore only saw a trace of snow with an inch of rain, but the Upper Shore (Easton) and parts of Delaware received a foot of snow. This sounds like a classic snowstorm for Delmarva, highest amounts to the North with lower amounts as you go South. Blizzard conditions occurred causing numerous wind damage and drifts up to 8ft reported in Talbot County. Damages were estimated at 500million dollars in Maryland, Delaware, and D.C. This just shows that Nor'easters can be extrememely dangerous and destructive, like Hurricanes.

The 2nd big Nor'easter occurred March 19-21, 1958. Again the hardest hit area was the Baltimore area with amounts over two feet. There was a report of 33 inches in Carroll County, MD. On Delmarva, the Lower Shore had 3 inches with the Northern areas getting hit hard such as 13 inches in Denton, MD (Caroline County). This storm had damages totaling up to 10 million dollars in MD with 8 deaths in MD.

Sounds like some classic storms to be remembered and I'm not surprised they occurred in those time periods. A lot of the historical Nor'easters have occurred around Valentines Day, Presidents' Day, and in March.

Thank you Ken for sending information on what sounds to me like two amazing Northern mid-Atlantic snowstorms.

Sources
Baltimore Sun
Denton Journal
Maryland Winters by Barbara Watson
Climates of the United States by John L. Baldwin
Department of Commerce, NOAA, the National Weather Service
Ken's 1983 Weather and Climate For 1872-1982

Weather Matters

Each week, I do a segment on the morning show called Weather Matters. It's a time to talk about something weather related...from El Nino to becoming more energy efficient. This week, I followed up on last week's segment, and talked about ways to lower your electric bill. If you missed it, here you go....enjoy!
First, one of the most common and easiest ways to save money is to change your light bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs. CFL's as they're known use 75% less energy and last 6 to 10 times longer. If you replace five of your most frequently used light bulbs, you can save more than $65 a year.
Sticking with lights, remember to always turn off lights when leaving a room. Just turning off one 60-watt bulb, that would otherwise burn eight hours a day, can save about $15 a year.
Also, remember to unplug any battery chargers when not in use, and yes that includes your cell phone charger! You may be surprised, like I was, that chargers actually use electricity even if your not charging anything.
Take showers not baths. A ten minute shower can use less water than a full bath. And change your showerhead. A new showerhead can save up to $145 each year on electricity.
Doing these simple steps can save you hundreds of dollars each year on your electricity bill.
Stay tuned to next week's Weather Matters! By the way, if you have any questions or ideas you want me to answer/discuss, let me know!

Spring Preview

Temperatures today resembled the month of May not February across Delmarva. Myself along with many others enjoyed a little break from the cold weather. I even turned the A/C on in my car today on the way to work this afternoon.

Many record highs were broken today across the shore with highs well into the 70's.
Dover, DE (71)
Georgetown, DE (73)
Salisbury, MD (75)
Wallops Island, VA (77)
Our weather watchers were calling in today with highs in the 70's. I also had a viewer call in from Berlin, MD with a temperature at his house reaching a high of 78.

It looks like the warmth comes to an end tonight as a strong cold front ushers in cooler air for the rest of the week. There will also be a brief shot of Arctic air arriving on Sunday with highs potentially only in the 30's.

Some good news is that the severe weather has calmed down today, with only two tornadoes reported across the South. Much better than yesterdays 78 tornado reports, but severe weather is expected with these types of storm system setups and air masses.

February Weather Holidays

Groundhog’s Day:
As everyone knows, Groundhog’s Day was this past Saturday. A lot of our Weather Watchers called in commenting on how warm the weather has been compared to Phil’s forecast for “six more weeks of winter.” I decided to do some digging into the accuracy of Phil’s forecast. Wikipedia.org quotes the National Climatic Data Center, saying that Phil is only 39% accurate. Just something to think about before you give up on that early spring!

Weatherperson’s Day:
February 5th was National Weatherperson’s Day and yes, it is a real holiday! While we do not know who created Weatherperson’s Day or when it began, we do know the holiday is in honor of John Jeffries, born Feb. 5, 1744. Jeffries was one of the first weathermen in America.

Busy Weather Night

The tornado count is now up to approximately 70 and there are over 100 hail reports. Unfortunately there were over 40 fatalities. Definitely last night was a very active night. The National Weather Service will now go and survey the damage to determine the strength of the tornadoes...we'll keep you posted.
Delmarva has also been dealing with some wacky weather. It's been incredibly warm! Wallops Island broke their record of 60° set back in 1990 today...as of noon, they reported 73°! Salisbury also broke a 99 year old record!!(65° in 1909) As of noon, Salisbury reported 70°! Today's highs will be 20-30° above normal. But a cold front will push through the area tonight bringing an end to the unseasonable warmth. Get outside and enjoy it while you can!!

Record Temperatures on Target for Wednesday

Good Evening! Enough sunshine broke out on Tuesday to boost temperatures to 70 degrees in some areas, including the Salisbury Airport. Salisbury missed tying the record by two degrees but Wallops Island broke the old record of 65 set back in 1991 with a high today of 72. There is a very good chance of breaking more records on Wednesday as the core of the warmest air moves through.

Here are some record temperatures for Wed February 6th.
Salisbury record high lowest temperature: 47
Salisbury record high: 65
Georgetown record high: 72
Wallops Island record high: 60


Along with these record temperatures in the East, there has been severe weather going on in the South along a strong cold front. So far today there has been 24 tornado reports across Arkansas, Northern Mississippi, Western Tennessee, and Western Kentucky. Along with numerous wind and hail damage reports across the South.

SPC (Storm Prediction Center) has Delmarva under a slight risk for severe storms as the cold front advances to the East coast. However, I think the chance will be small though since the main energy of the storm system is forecast to weaken and pass by to the West and North of Delmarva. If any thunderstorms due develop, the main threat from them will be strong winds, as mid and upper level winds through the atmosphere will be very strong. The best chance for showers will be in the evening and the night time hours on Wednesday. Enjoy the Spring weather!

-Justin

Spring Fever!

Is it still winter? It's 11am and it's 61°outside! This morning when I came to work I actually heard bird's chirping. Last night's low was warmer than our normal highs should be. Our low tonight will probably break our old record for a high min temp...think about that one for minute. The old record was 47 in 1991 and I think we'll stay in the low to mid 50's tonight. Highs may reach the low 70's on Wednesday which will shatter the old record of 65 set back in 1909 - 99 years ago!!
Needless to say, some impressive warmness has overspread the entire Mid Atlantic region. Unfortunately with all the warmth in place, severe weather and flooding is beginning to break out. Cold air associated with a cold front is slamming into warm air ahead of it and *pop* you get severe weather. The Storm Prediction Center has a large portion of Arkansas, far southwestern Tennessee, and northwestern Mississippi in a high risk for severe weather today...possibly some large tornadoes and definitely severe thunderstorms. That cold front will move closer to Delmarva on Wednesday providing us the chance for some showers and thunderstorms, but nothing compared to the storminess potential today. Enjoy the warmth while it lasts!

- Kira

Record Highs Possible

Good Evening! Warm weather lovers, this forecast is for you. We are setting up in a classic weather pattern conducive for record high temperatures here on the shore for Tuesday and Wednesday. A large ridge of High pressure at the surface and aloft in the atmosphere is situated just off the East Coast. This will allow deep Southwest flow to develop over Delmarva for Tuesday and Wednesday.

Tonight, a warm front is situated just the South of us providing some rain showers ahead of the front, which is typical with a warm front. The front will move through by mid-morning Tuesday switching our winds to the Southwest. Skies will be partly to mostly cloudy on Tuesday with highs in the upper 60's away from the water. It looks like Wednesday will be a few degrees warmer as the core of the warmest air move through early Wednesday afternoon. It is possible that the warmer inland locations reach near 70 on Tuesday and low 70's on Wednesday if we see enough sunshine.

Here are some record high temps:
Salisbury: Tue - 72, Wed - 65

Georgetown: Tue - 69, Wed - 72

A cold front will then move through Wednesday night providing showers and then a return to cooler temperatures for the end of the week and the weekend.

Enjoy the warm weather!!


Justin

Welcome to Watercooler Weather

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WOW Today's Weather Is Great!

WOW! Today's weather is great, but will the groundhog be right? Will there be six more weeks of weather?