Maryland Weather

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Comment by Christopher Sloop on March 24, 2013 at 9:33pm

Millersville University in Millersville, PA will be having it's annual Weather Day on April 20th from 11am to 3pm for those interested.

Some of the many highlights include:

-a LIVE weather balloon launch!

-Exciting science experiments and demonstrations!

-Experience what it’s like to be in front of a green screen!

 -Weather crafts and face painting!

-Weather Trivia!

-Learn about various weather topics at student and professional booths!

-FREE food and admission!

-And MUCH more!!!

 

For more information visit us at:

PWAD: http://www.muweatherday.com/

AMS: http://snowball.millersville.edu/~ams/

Comment by Kevin Shaw on March 14, 2013 at 11:52pm

Richard Holden notified me that in my posts I made earlier tonight that cover the months of December, January and February, I did not mention any snowfall data for these months. Not an intentional oversight, but the anemic totals this winter have been rather forgettable that helped contribute to missing publishing this aspect of my data. For the record, I have had 11.1" of snow this winter through March 14, 2013, broken down in this fashion:  T of snow in November, 4.1" of snow in December, 1.8" of snow in January, 2.0" in February, and so far 3.2" in March. No record snowfalls to speak of there (though my 0.9" of snow on Feb 1 actually did set a daily record for Feb 1 - but pretty paltry to say the least) Still possible to get a bit more snow here during the remaining days of March, and then a slimmer chance in April so perhaps there will be updates to this data for the 2012-2013 winter before the book closes on the records later on in the spring. Thanks Rick for pointing this out - probably no one else on the Backyard would have noticed.

Comment by Kevin Shaw on March 14, 2013 at 9:56pm

FEBRUARY 2013 MONTHLY SUMMARY - GAITHERSBURG 2 WNW MARYLAND
                          by Kevin Shaw, observer in charge

February 2013 featured close to normal mean temperatures, but as has been the case the past few years, cooler than normal average maximum temperatures and warmer than normal average minimum temperatures that came close to balancing each other out.

Precipitation totalled 1.71" which was the fifth driest February in my 35 year period of record. Total snowfall of 2.0" was significantly below normal, but at least we got some and is the 13th least snowy February in my 35 years. The 0.9" of snow on the first of the month actually set a daily record for snowfall on that date, surpassing the old record of a trace set back in 1992 and 1994. We had a few "clippers", mostly during the colder first part of the month, that gave us a few light snowfalls that temporarily whitened the local landscape.The 0.59" of rain on the 26th was our wettest day of the month, and also broke the daily rainfall record for the date, eclipsing the old record of 0.45" set back in 1992.
There were no maximum or minimum temperature records set, as once again the extremes were muted with no outstanding variations in high and low values. We only had 5 days with maximum temperatures of 50 or greater, 3 days with maximums of 32 or less, and 2 days with minimum temperatures in the teens.

The February mean temperature of 35.4° (+ 0.4°) wound up as the 17th warmest ever out of 35. The February average maximum temperature of 42.5°(- 2.2°) was the 25th warmest, and the February average minimum temperature of 28.2°(+3.0°) was the 7th warmest in my 35 year period of record. There were no big periods of warm or cold temperatures, though there was a bit of a mini-cold wave at the very beginning and a bit of a warm-up, particularly with the minimums, at the very end of the month. The 22 minimum temperature
days of 32 or less was quite close to the long-term average of 23. The 3 days of sub-32 maximum temperature days during the month compare favorably with my long-term average amount of 3.4.

The monthly precipitation total of 1.71" was significantly below normal (-1.28") and was only my 8th February with a monthly total under 2 inches. With the big rains in January at the end of the month, the surplus managed to carry over through February and our 7.00" annual precipitation amount is still about an inch above normal for the year up through the end of February. 12 days of measurable rain this February was above the long-term average amount of 9.6 days.

The highest barometric pressure reading of 30.50" on the 10th occurred during one of our brief dry interludes from a strong HIGH that gave us only seasonably cold maximum temperatures on that day. I did have a 20 minimum temperature that day, one of the coldest of the month. The modest 29.55" lowest pressure value of the month occurred on the 27th,at the time of our biggest rainfall event of the month (0.64" on the 26th and 27th). The 27 MPH PWG (peak wind gust) for the month on the 9th was just one day before the highest pressure reading of the month. The distribution of 10 clear, 6 partly cloudy and 12 cloudy days didn't fit in very well with the generally dry conditions of the month. However, the light, frequent precipitation days during the month does correspond well with the 12 cloudy days.

Comment by Kevin Shaw on March 14, 2013 at 9:43pm

FEBRUARY 2013 - GAITHERSBURG 2 WNW MARYLAND                         
BRIEF SUMMARY STATISTICS FOR BACKYARD WEATHER
by Kevin Shaw, Observer in charge
                        
Average high temp            42.5°      (- 2.2°)
Average low temp             28.2°      (+ 3.0°)
Mean temp                        35.4°      (+ 0.4°)
Precipitation                      1.71"      (- 1.28")
Greatest daily amount       0.59"          (26)
Year to date precip            7.00"     (+ 0.96")  

High temperature for the month (date)   57°   (15)
Low temperature for the month  (date)   16°    (2)

Highest barometric pressure (date)     30.50" (10)
Lowest barometric pressure (date)      29.55" (27)
Peak wind gust (date/direction):             27   (9/N)

Heating degree days for the month:        830
Cooling degree days for the month:            0
Greatest diurnal range (date):                26.0° (15)
Least diurnal range (date)                        5.8° (22)

Fog days:                                                    4
Sleet/Freezing Rain days:                        1/2  
Snow days (includes 5 days with a T):       8
Sunny/clear days: 10  Partly Cloudy days:  6  Cloudy days: 12

Days with measurable precipitation (=>.01")  =    12
Days with minimum temperatures of 32 or less = 22
Days with maximum temperatures of 32 or less = 3 

Comment by Kevin Shaw on March 14, 2013 at 9:42pm

JANUARY 2013 - GAITHERSBURG 2 WNW MARYLAND                         
BRIEF SUMMARY STATISTICS FOR BACKYARD WEATHER
by Kevin Shaw, Observer in charge
                        
Average high temp            44.9°      (+ 4.1°)
Average low temp             29.7°      (+ 6.7°)
Mean temp                        37.3°      (+ 5.4°)
Precipitation                      5.29"      (+ 2.24")
Greatest daily amount       3.00"          (30)
Year to date precip            5.29"      (+2.24")  

High temperature for the month (date)   68°   (30)
Low temperature for the month  (date)   12°   (23)

Highest barometric pressure (date)     30.63" (27)
Lowest barometric pressure (date)      29.16" (31)
Peak wind gust (date/direction):             28 (31/NW)

Heating degree days for the month:        859
Cooling degree days for the month:            0
Greatest diurnal range (date):                31.9° (29)
Least diurnal range (date)                        5.1° (15)

Fog days:                                                  11
Sleet/Freezing Rain days:                        0/1  
Sunny/clear days: 10  Partly Cloudy days:  9  Cloudy days: 12

Days with measurable precipitation (=>.01")  =    12
Days with minimum temperatures of 32 or less = 20
Days with maximum temperatures of 32 or less = 4 

Comment by Kevin Shaw on March 14, 2013 at 9:41pm

DECEMBER 2012 - GAITHERSBURG 2 WNW MARYLAND                         
BRIEF SUMMARY STATISTICS FOR BACKYARD WEATHER
by Kevin Shaw, Observer in charge
                        
Average high temp            50.0°      (+ 5.8°)
Average low temp             35.0°      (+ 8.7°)
Mean temp                        42.5°      (+ 7.2°)
Precipitation                      3.63"      (+ 0.26")
Greatest daily amount       1.68"          (26)
Year to date precip          44.36"      (- 0.55")  

High temperature for the month (date)   71°    (4)
Low temperature for the month  (date)   25°   (14)

Highest barometric pressure (date)     30.50" (13)
Lowest barometric pressure (date)      29.28" (21)
Peak wind gust (date/direction):             34    (21,22/WSW,W)

Heating degree days for the month:        697
Cooling degree days for the month:            0
Greatest diurnal range (date):                28.7° (14)
Least diurnal range (date)                        4.6°  (9)

Fog days:                                                  16
Sleet/Freezing Rain days:                        1/1  
Sunny/clear days: 4  Partly Cloudy days: 13  Cloudy days: 14

Days with measurable precipitation (=>.01")  =  11
Days with minimum temperatures of 32 or less = 14
Days with maximum temperatures of 60 or more = 5  

Comment by Kevin Shaw on December 9, 2012 at 2:18am

NOVEMBER 2012 - GAITHERSBURG 2 WNW MARYLAND                         
BRIEF SUMMARY STATISTICS FOR BACKYARD WEATHER
by Kevin Shaw, Observer in charge
                        
Average high temp            51.9°      (-  3.3°)
Average low temp             33.3°      (-  1.4°)
Mean temp                        42.6°      (-  2.4°)
Precipitation                      0.97"      (- 2.85")
Greatest daily amount       0.71"          (13)
Year to date precip           40.73"     (- 0.81")  

High temperature for the month (date)   68°   (12)
Low temperature for the month  (date)   26°   (29)

Highest barometric pressure (date)     30.64" (18)
Lowest barometric pressure (date)      29.67"  (1)
Peak wind gust (date/direction):              23  (8/NW)

Heating degree days for the month:        671
Cooling degree days for the month:            0
Greatest diurnal range (date):                30.7° (10)
Least diurnal range (date)                        6.4° (27)

Fog days:                                 2
Sleet days:                               1
Sunny/clear days: 13  Partly Cloudy days: 10  Cloudy days: 7

Days with measurable precipitation (=>.01")  =   4
Days with minimum temperatures of 32 or less = 13
Days with maximum temperatures of 60 or more = 4 

Comment by Kevin Shaw on December 9, 2012 at 2:17am

Posted a minute ago was my monthly summary for November 2012 - Gaithersburg Maryland by observer in charge, Kevin Shaw

Comment by Kevin Shaw on December 9, 2012 at 2:16am

November 2012 was my first month since January 2011 that had below normal max, min, and mean average temperatures. I had my 6th coolest average maximum temperature in my 34 years of records. My minimum temperature of 33.3° was the coolest average November min since the 32.9° I had back in November 2002. Likewise it was the coolest mean average temp (42.6°) since November 2002 when I had 42.3°. The only temp records set during the month were the low max temp records of 45 on the 6th and 43 on the 7th. At the end of November I completed 34 full years of precipitation records at my station. This November was only the second ever that I would characterize as being dry and cool. The 0.97" of total rainfall for the month was my second lowest November total ever, only surpassed by the 0.38" that fell back in November 1981. Needless to say no precipitation records were set during the month. A rather minor event on the 13th tied an old record (1984) for the date for most snow/sleet with a Trace. Sleet fell for a short time that morning that I only noticed because I was driving through it when it occurred. Four days of measurable precipitation falling during the month tied 1981 for the least amount of days with measurable precipitation occurring.

The total precipitation of 0.97" that fell in November was 2.85" below normal, and helped turn an above normal year through October to a below normal year through the end of November. There were only 4 days of measurable precipitation, well below normal levels, and tied 1981 with the fewest days ever in November. 

Temperature-wise the statistics show a fairly large negative departure from normal on the max side (-3.3°) and a 1.4°below normal departure on the min temperature side. The combination of these figures resulted in a 2.4° below normal average mean temperature. Temperature extremes for the month were once again muted. The maximum temp for the month didn't even reach 70 (68° on the 12th) and the min didn't get lower than the mid 20s (26° on the 26th, 29th and 30th). The 13 days with 32 or lower min temps was the most since 18 days were recorded back in 2002.

The highest pressure reading of 30.64" on the 18^th occurred during the mid month dry spell and was the highest value since March.  The lowest pressure reading was 29.67" on the 1st that was at the tail end of the Hurricane Sandy-influenced very low pressure values at the end of October. The 23 MPH PWG from the NW on the 8th was considerably less than the winds from Sandy just a week or so earlier. The distribution of 13 clear, 10 partly cloudy and 7 cloudy days fit in fairly well with the dry patterns of the month.

There were no thunderstorm days in November, and only 2 days with fog, considerably below normal. There was the one day with sleet on the 13th (T).  There were no cooling degree days in November. However, there were 671 heating degree days, definitely an above normal value for November.  Speaking of numbers, my maximum temperature frequencies included 4 days from 60-69, 13 days from 50-59, and 13 days from 40-49. There were only 2 days with minimum temperatures above 40, 22 days between 30-39, and 6 days between 20-29. 

The diurnal range average was below normal (18.6° vs a normal of 20.5°) with a max daily range of 30.7° on the 10th as we were on the rebound from a cool spell into the warmest spell of the month. The 6.4° lowest monthly range on the 27th occurred on a light, cold rainy day when my lowest max temp of the month occurred (40°). There were only 4 days with ranges under 10° during the month, with conversely 7 days of ranges of 25° or greater, somewhat of a by-product of a dry fall month.

Comment by Kevin Shaw on November 11, 2012 at 5:12am

Herb Close's semi-annual weather party was held on Saturday, November 3, 2012. We had a small gathering of dedicated Maryland and Delaware weather observers gathered there, enjoying great food, fellowship, weather videos, Sandy discussions, weather picture sharing, wifi connectivity. A group picture was made and is shown immediately below. From left to right as you are looking at the picture is yours truly Kevin Shaw of Gaithersburg MD, then Sidney Secular of Silver Spring MD, Peter Grimm of Olney MD, our host Herb Close of Manchester MD, then Gary Gallaher of Bear DE, Jeff Stoudt of Laurel MD, Bobby Miller of Millers MD, and then Rick Holden of Clarksburg MD on the extreme right. Currently only yours truly and Rick Holden are members of the Backyard Community.

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