Archive: Local Climate
June Recap: Spectacularly Stormy
Storm reports in Md. during June. Courtesy NOAA's Storm Prediction Center What did June 3, 4, 7, 10, 14, 16, 18, 21, 22, 23, 27, 28, and 30 have in common at Reagan National Airport (DCA)? Thunderstorms occurred on all of these days. In fact, thunderstorms happened twice on June...
By Jason Samenow | July 1, 2008; 10:30 AM ET | Comments (8)
D.C. Not the Only City Sweating it Out
Washington isn't alone when it comes to sweaty weather. In fact, it's pretty far from the top -- No. 48 -- according to Old Spice's annual ranking of America's sweatiest cities. Yeah, I know... kind of hard to believe for those of you pouring with sweat from just the short...
By Dan Stillman | June 28, 2008; 12:00 PM ET | Comments (7)
Independence Day Indicators
Does it seem like there's always rain on the 4th of July? The answer is practically yes in recent years. During three of the last four years we've had rain, and in each case thunderstorms during the 5 p.m. hour. Those storms were no doubt a nuisance for barbecues...
By Jason Samenow | June 26, 2008; 10:45 AM ET | Comments (3)
May Finishes Second Wettest on Record
In last night's area forecast discussion for the metro area, the National Weather Service reported: FOR REAGAN NATIONAL THE TOTAL RAINFALL FOR THE MONTH OF MAY IS 10.66 INCHES. THIS IS JUST THREE HUNDREDTHS OF AN INCH BEHIND THE RECORD SETTING 10.69 INCHES THAT OCCURRED IN 1889 AND 1953. TOTAL...
By Jason Samenow | June 1, 2008; 05:00 AM ET | Comments (1)
Capital Weather Gang's 2008 Summer Outlook
It's almost June, and those hazy, hot, humid days are just around the corner. Alas, our 2008 summer outlook is here. The task of doing a summer outlook is no easy one. First, with few exceptions, summer in the D.C. area is mainly hot. Does Joe Public really care if...
By Matt Ross | May 28, 2008; 10:30 AM ET | Comments (9)
How Many 90 Degree Days This Summer?
In recent decades, Reagan National Airport has averaged about 31 90+ degree days during June, July, and August. That's about one every three days. Dulles and BWI Airports have averaged 24 and 25 such days, respectively. Before our summer outlook comes out tomorrow, let us know how many 90+ degree...
By Jason Samenow | May 27, 2008; 12:35 PM ET | Comments (16)
More on NOAA's Summer Outlook
Last week, I wrote about how the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center's (CPC) summer outlook could be more transparent. Specifically, I criticized CPC's outlook map, which paints the metro area in orange -- suggesting HOT -- whereas its own probabilities suggest a 60% or better chance...
By Jason Samenow | May 27, 2008; 10:30 AM ET | Comments (2)
NOAA: It Could be Hot This Summer
Probability of above average temperatures this summer. Credit: NOAA If you think the above headline is vague, you're onto something. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center (CPC) recently released its updated 90-day summer outlook and it tells us... not much of anything and what little it...
By Jason Samenow | May 20, 2008; 11:00 AM ET | Comments (4)
Drought is Down, but not Totally Out
Latest drought statistics released 24-hour rainfall totals, in inches, ending 8 a.m. Monday. Courtesy National Weather Service. I am sure many readers remember the headlines of last summer when the word drought was on the menu for the first time in almost a decade. We had just experienced a four-year...
By Matt Ross | April 24, 2008; 11:15 AM ET | Comments (3)
What Happened to Below-Normal Temperatures?
Despite a several-day stretch of below-normal temperatures, April is still running over a degree above normal, and warmer weather toward the end of this week should push us even higher. If April finishes above normal, it will mark the 12th consecutive month of normal or above-normal temperatures (based on 1971-2000...
By Matt Ross | April 16, 2008; 11:30 AM ET | Comments (2)
April 1994: Spring with a Vengeance
Sure, the current weather is a bit chilly. But overall, through one-third of the month, April temperatures have averaged more than two degrees above normal. This is in sharp contrast to April of last year, which was the coldest in almost 25 years. But what about warm Aprils? The type...
By Matt Ross | April 13, 2008; 12:00 PM ET | Comments (9)
April Weather: Both Appalling and Amazing
When most people think about April weather, I would bet what comes to mind is beautiful sunshine, blooming flowers, the onset of warm temperatures as well as a few tame showers (hence the saying "April showers brings May flowers"). What many of us tend to repress is that April can...
By Jason Samenow | April 1, 2008; 11:00 AM ET | Comments (7)
Shoveling Out From a Snow Job
At a recent dinner seminar that I attended, upon hearing that I was a Capital Weather Gang member, an otherwise respectable appearing gentleman asked me how global warming could be occurring in light of the "record-breaking cold winter." I must admit that I was a bit mystified at first, since...
By Steve Scolnik | March 28, 2008; 11:00 AM ET | Comments (20)
Spring is Here, But Snow Hope Springs Eternal
By Steve Tracton Robins cruising around the yard. Crocuses emerging from the ground. Winter clothing clearance sales. Outdoor sidewalk dining. Snowbirds returning from Florida. Blaring sound and spewing fumes of lawn mowers. Pollen allergy sneezing and wheezing. Cherry blossoms and tourist invasion. Spring break and spring cleaning. March Madness. Yes,...
By Capital Weather Gang | March 22, 2008; 11:30 AM ET | Comments (10)
Freedman: The Winter That Was (Everywhere Else)
The winter of 2007-8 served as a reminder for much of the country, and indeed much of the world, that despite the starring role now being played by global warming, Old Man Winter has not completely exited the stage. In fact, wintry weather enjoyed a dramatic comeback this year compared...
By Andrew Freedman | March 17, 2008; 11:00 AM ET | Comments (13)
D.C. March Heat Waves: The Big Four
Unfortunately, folks looking forward to an early spring will have to wait a bit longer. While we will certainly see oscillations in the weather, there are no indications of extreme or extended heat over the next couple weeks. But that doesn't preclude us from talking about March heat waves of...
By Matt Ross | March 12, 2008; 11:00 AM ET | Comments (1)
Is It Still Winter?
By Steve Tracton Considering today's weather - providing a taste of both spring and winter - the answer to this question of season may not be as obvious as the response to the old Groucho Marx query, "Who is buried in Grant's tomb?" Like me, you probably learned in grade...
By Capital Weather Gang | March 8, 2008; 01:00 PM ET | Comments (46)
The Cold and Snowy Reversal of March 1960
By the end of February 1960, D.C. area cold and snow lovers were probably feeling a lot like their contemporaries do this winter. All three winter months finished with temperatures above average, and there was no measurable snow until Feb. 13-14 when just over 6 inches fell in D.C. The...
By Matt Ross | March 5, 2008; 11:00 AM ET | Comments (14)
Are We in a Snow "Drought?"
As we sit at only 4.9 inches of snow for the season, many snow lovers are likely wondering the same thing: When are we going to get another good winter? While the past several winters haven't been awful for snow lovers, they haven't been a bumper crop either. This...
By Matt Ross | February 27, 2008; 11:00 AM ET | Comments (20)
Some Drops in the Bucket
Moderate drought continues, especially south of the Potomac Month-to-date % of normal precipitation, from National Weather Service. Click image to enlarge. Rainfall amounts from today's showers have been generally light across the area, with totals around 0.1" through late afternoon. Thanks to the record-breaking rain at the beginning and reinforcing...
By Steve Scolnik | February 26, 2008; 07:00 PM ET | Comments (12)
"Huge Snowfall Shuts Down D.C. Area"
Floral St. in Washington, Feb. 19, 1979. Click image to enlarge. (Photo © Washington Post, via WeatherBook.com.) The greatest snowstorm in more than half [a] century left the Washington area smothered under at most two feet of snow yesterday -- a magnificent white menace that virtually imprisoned the city...
By Steve Scolnik | February 19, 2008; 06:30 PM ET | Comments (33)
Where's the Snow? Ask a Badger
By guest contributor Bob Henson It's been a varied winter thus far in the D.C. area, with everything from freezing rain this week to thunderstorms a few days before. But snow lovers are craving the real thing (a possibility later this week). The season's snow total to date is a...
By Capital Weather Gang | February 17, 2008; 11:00 AM ET | Comments (17)
Today in Weather History: Feb. 14 vs. Jan. 14
As we noted last month, January 14, statistically speaking, is virtually allergic to snow. That's not the case for today's date, however. The February 14 daily snowfall record of 4.9" in 1885, while far from the overall February daily record of 16.4" in the blizzard of Feb. 11, 1983, is...
By Steve Scolnik | February 14, 2008; 06:30 PM ET | Comments (12)
El Niño Update: La Niña Strengthens
Pacific Ocean sea surface temperature deviations from average, courtesy the Climate Prediction Center. Click on image to enlarge. The National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center released the latest monthly El Niño update today. If you're happy with the winter so far, then to the extent it's been influenced by...
By Steve Scolnik | February 7, 2008; 07:00 PM ET | Comments (21)
Super Soaker: Record Rain Recap
This morning's showers, while generally minimal across the metro area (a couple hundredths of an inch), helped add to a nice surplus for February built up from Friday's record-setting rainfall. The regional 24-hour precipitation map (popup image) ending 7 a.m. Saturday from the National Weather Service (NWS) Precipitation Analysis...
By Steve Scolnik | February 4, 2008; 07:00 PM ET | Comments (5)
Yesterday's Record Breaking Rains
Based on the rainfall observed at Reagan National Airport (DCA) yesterday, it was the wettest February day at the airport since the President's Day snowstorm in 2003. 2.06" of rain fell more than doubling the previous daily record of 0.92" in 1985. Dulles and Baltimore Washington International Airports, which received...
By Jason Samenow | February 2, 2008; 04:30 PM ET | Comments (7)
La Niña Could Limit February Snow
As January comes to a close, the DC area has seen only two snow events this winter. Dec. 5 and Jan. 17 combined to drop 4-8 inches of snow across the metro area, which is 20 to 40 percent less than the average for this far into the season. Are...
By Matt Ross | January 30, 2008; 11:30 AM ET | Comments (32)
Area's Drought Continues
Moderate precipitation deficit persists into 2008 Chart by Capital Weather Gang. Click on image to enlarge. While enough to get you wet without rain gear, today's semi-springlike showers have done little to dampen the impact of a prolonged dry spell in the Washington metro area. Rainfall amounts of around a...
By Steve Scolnik | January 29, 2008; 07:00 PM ET | Comments (8)
Our Warm-up in Perspective
For the last two days, Jason's been writing about the end of our current cold spell. I've done some number crunching, with the help of several computer models, and it looks like the high/low temperature over the coming week will be close to 47/34. To put this in perspective, the...
By Josh Larson | January 28, 2008; 07:00 PM ET | Comments (9)
What's Happened to January?
Our coldest month -- an average of more than three degrees colder than February, and almost five degrees colder than December -- has been mostly a nonperformer of late. The DC area, as measured at Reagan National Airport, is currently facing its fourth consecutive January of above-average temperatures, and the...
By Matt Ross | January 25, 2008; 11:15 AM ET | Comments (11)
Snow Starvation
The January "Snow Hole" There's never enough frozen precipitation in Washington for the confirmed snow lovers, but they were up against a formidable obstacle for the latest rain event last night into this morning: the January 14 "snow hole". As hard as it is to get the right ingredients together...
By Steve Scolnik | January 14, 2008; 07:00 PM ET | Comments (22)
Freedman: Another Strange Year
Is the weather getting stranger or is it just me? More people asked themselves this question in 2007, as temperatures edged ever upward. This was, after all, the year when battling global warming turned into a worldwide social and political movement, thereby making odd weather suspicious. The weather of 2007...
By Andrew Freedman | January 13, 2008; 09:00 AM ET | Comments (51)
Records Fall
The new record highs for today... National: 73 (breaks the old record of 69 set in 1998) Dulles: 70 (breaks the old record of 69 set in 1998) BWI: 70 (breaks the old record of 67 set in 1998) Why do the record highs and lows for National and BWI...
By Steve Scolnik | January 8, 2008; 05:29 PM ET | Comments (6)
