Welcome to Spring Meteorological spring arrives Saturday, March the first. The months of March, April and May comprise meteorological spring. As we all know all too well March can contain almost every season. Winter and spring battle which often leads to some big storms and wild temperature swings. Our average high at the beginning of the month is in the low fifties but rises to the low sixties by the end of March. We average over three and a half inches of liquid precipitation and a bit over one and one half inches of snow. Since the winter of 1887 - 1888 we have had ten inches of snow or more just ten times. We have had five inches or more (including the ten times w/ ten of more) eighteen times. Forty three times since 1887 – 1888 we have had no measureable snow in March. Astronomical spring arrives on Thursday the 20th at 1:48 AM. This is the Vernal Equinox when the sun is directly over the equator which creates equal day and night in each hemisphere. We are going into spring while the southern hemisphere slips into autumn. For you star gazers Mars will be bright and overhead by 7 PM. Venus, which has been putting on a show for months, will remain bright but remain very low in the horizon and be very difficult to see. Daylight saving time begins the second Sunday in March, the 9th. Before you go to bed on Saturday the 8th turn your clocks ahead one hour. It is also a good time to replace your batteries in all of your smoke detectors.  ¶ 6:03 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Leap Year Leap Year

We add an extra day to February this year so we remain in sync with the astronomical seasons. We need to add a day about every four years. The solar year, the time it take the sun to appear directly over the equator (Vernal Equinox) and then re-appear takes a bit over one year. In fact that takes 365.24 days. After four years we accrue an extra day. No big deal you say but if we didn’t adjust our calendars in forty years, for example the beginning of spring would be almost in early April instead of the March 20-21 range. Similarly, all of the astronomical dates marking the seasons would be pushed farther and farther back. We use the Gregorian calendar. This calendar has been around since 1582 but we adopted it in September 1752. I’ll confuse you now. Every leap year is divisible by four but if that year is divisible by 100 then it is not a leap year unless of course that year is divisible by 400. So the year 2000 was a leap year but only after the third check was considered. Mathematically the longest time between two leap years is eight years. That won’t happen until 2096 and 2104. If we didn’t care about the seasons beginning roughly the same time every year then we wouldn’t have to add a day every four years except that after one hundred years our calendar would be nearly a month ahead. It would be weird having the calendar read January 21st when in terms of seasons it would only be December 28th. I was hoping that extra day this month would add another snowy day to a snowy winter...oh well.  ¶ 9:52 PM 1 Comments Links to this post

  We Need the Rain I hope you have your umbrella with you tomorrow. An area of low pressure will track from the west right along the Maryland/Pennsylvania border. We actually need all the rain (precipitation) we can get right now. For the year '08 National is essentially right on the money in terms of average with almost five and one half inches. Dulles for '08 is a little over an inch and one half behind with a little over three and three quarters in the bank. Farmers, plants and trees don't care about calendar years. We are still fighting a deficit from '07. National ended up nearly six and half inches behind for the year but Dulles was nearly fourteen inches behind for '07. Dulles is now over fifteen inches behind if we add '07's deficit to our rainfall to date in '08. We average over nine inches if you combine March, April and May. It is very important for us to receive at least average rainfall the next three months. It is not a good thing to go into the summer with a large deficit. We average essentially the same amount of precipitation for the summer months but widespread, soaking rains are very hard to come by in the summer.

National: Total Precip '07 Deficit Total Precip Jan '07 - Now Deficit
32.93" - 6.42" 38.35" -6.45"

Dulles: 28.00" -13.80" 33.40" -15.39"  ¶ 11:46 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  The Old DC Split On 9 News Now at 5 PM Thursday evening I referred to a term called 'the Old DC split'. If you have lived here long enough you may be familiar with the term. Our bout with a little snow and ice late Thursday night and Friday was result of not one but two ill-defined storms or pieces of energy. I mentioned that the northern piece was trying to pull out to the north of us while the southern moisture was trying to dive south of us. When we end up in the middle, missing the bulk of the precipitation to the north and to the south, that's the old DC split. Contrary to some emails and phone calls we receive it is not the government controlling the weather patterns nor is it connected to the landing or launch of the space shuttle. We get caught up in a split flow. The northern branch of the jet stream takes one piece of energy to our north and southern branch of the jet stream keeps the other piece of energy or area of moisture to our south. We end up in the doldrums so to speak. The jet streams are fast moving currents of air that guide the track of low pressure systems and steer areas of moisture. There is always more than one jet stream and in that case we look at the jet stream maxima to help determine the path of a storm. In winter there are often two separate jet streams: the northern branch and the southern or subtropical branch. We concern ourselves with the jet streams that are about 18,000' in the air but these currents of air could be found at many levels. We can get some big snows when the northern branch of the jet stream or polar jet delivers cold air and the sub-tropical jet brings us tons of moisture. Once in awhile the two jets merge making a very intense storm and in the case of the March 1993 storm an historical storm.  ¶ 5:08 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Lunar Eclipse Wednesday night 2/20/08:

If the clouds cooperate in time we will be treated to a full lunar eclipse Wednesday night. This will be the last visible lunar eclipse for us until 2010. We should be able to see the first shadow on the moon by 8:45 PM. The shadow on the moon is cast by the sun hitting the earth while in a line with the moon. The shadow cast by the earth is known as the umbra. It will be difficult to see the early stages of the eclipse. The best viewing time will be between 10 PM and 10:52 PM Wednesday night. The moon will turn an eerie, orangish color during the eclipse. We will also be in for another treat when the eclipse is in its totality, the constellation of Leo will be visible. Regulus, the brightest star in that constellation will be visible just above the moon. Saturn, will appear yellow and can also be seen to the lower left of the moon. It is always best to view these events away from lights. All you need is a dark place with no man-made lights. For a bigger treat bring along a pair of binoculars. Temperatures will be falling into the thirties and then twenties before the eclipse is over so bundle up and enjoy.

Total Lunar Eclipse: February 20, 2008  ¶ 5:24 PM 2 Comments Links to this post

  Do you know where your forecast comes from ? We hope 9 News Now and/or wusa9.com is your source for weather information. For VDOT it is not. In fact they pay a private company that in turn provides them with forecasts and weather information upon which they, VDOT base their decisions. If you live in Virginia your tax dollars are paying this company for its forecasts. This is not an uncommon practice; most counties and the District hire private firms that provide them with forecasts. I’m not sure how VDOT was caught off guard. Montgomery County and the District had the trucks out in plenty of time to salt and treat the roads. VDOT had over two hundred and fifty trucks out and about Tuesday morning. None were sent to the mixing bowl. On Monday our forecasts predicted freezing rain late Tuesday morning and early Tuesday afternoon. Yes, we went highs 32 to 36 but said by the time the temp climbed above freezing the damage would be done. The National Weather Service also warned about freezing rain in the Metro Area, including Fairfax County. By Tuesday morning we lowered our highs to 30 – 35 keeping the cold air in longer. The National Weather Service also warned of freezing rain in their mid morning update. We also made a point during our broadcasts on Monday and Tuesday that this was not a snow event for the immediate Metro Area but rather sleet and freezing rain and that it doesn’t take much freezing rain to make a mess. When the VDOT spokesperson says the forecasts were wrong he/she is actually referring to the forecasts they pay for and not Channel 9 forecasts. Here are links to related stories.

VDOT Apologizes To Motorists

Freezing Rain Hinders Travel, Delays Federal Government  ¶ 7:14 PM 1 Comments Links to this post

  I See Robins I have been receiving a lot of emails, pictures included, of people spotting robins in their yard. Robins in your yard does not necessarily mean spring is here. Some robins actually winter here. When we have a mild spell they are visible but when it is cold they retreat back to the brush. Yes, I have had reports of upwards of a dozen robins in someone’s front yard. I even saw fifteen in my own front yard a couple of weeks ago. When you spot robins in the mid Atlantic it does not mean that old man winter won’t return but it does mean he is on vacation at that time. If you spot a robin in the northern Plains or upper Midwest or interior New England then winter must be over. Robins will not winter this far north. They are only found in the northern climes in summer. If you want to attract robins and many birds for that matter water and not food is the way to go. Some experts claim that robins bathe twice a day. When their young hatch they can spend fifteen hours of the day feeding the chicks. Caterpillars and not earthworms are their favorite food. Earthworms make up almost thirty percent of their diet but caterpillars make up fifty percent.  ¶ 4:58 PM 1 Comments Links to this post

  Cold Air Damming We had another example of cold air damming Tuesday. Just what is cold air damming ? It is when a shallow layer of cold air becomes entrenched or dammed up against the eastern slopes of the mountains. This is a phenomenon particular to East Coast from central Pennsylvania to northern Georgia and all points in between that lie in the piedmont east of the Appalachian Mountains. Colder air is more dense than warm air. The wedge of cold air sits up against the mountains and warmer air aloft boosts temperatures from 2000’ and higher well above freezing but that shallow layer remains below freezing. The warmer air blows over the mountains but never scours out that shallow layer of cold air. As a low pressure system tracks to our west it drags a warm front up the eastern seaboard. This warm front begins to buckle as it moves into cold air. The configuration of the warm front looks like a big letter ‘U’. The front moves through Charleston, WV and then dips south to Richmond then curves back northeastward up along the Bay or in the Delmarva. More often that not by the time the warm front pushes through the last vestiges of cold air the trailing cold front moves through so quickly we never warm as much as our neighbors in the mountains or to our east. Charleston, WV could be 47 degrees while National is stuck on 32 degrees and Salisbury is 52 degrees. When forecasting a cold air damming situation we must always remember that the cold air hangs on at least twelve hours after the computer guidance thinks it will.  ¶ 12:51 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Blizzard of 1983 On this date in 1983 a mega Nor’easter was in full force. This storm dropped snow from Richmond to Maine. 16.6” of snow fell at National with 22” falling at both Dulles and BWI. Rockville recorded 24" along with Leesburg. The storm produced winds of 72 mph at Chatham, MA along with 20"of snow. Snowfall records we set at Harrisburg, PA, Philadelphia, PA (21") and Hartford, CT. February 1983 ranks as the sixth biggest snowstorm on record.  ¶ 5:31 PM 1 Comments Links to this post

  Larry the Monster My Favorite Winter Storm:

I didn't sleep much between February 6 and 7, 1978. I didn't sleep when a big snowstorm was on the way. Still don't. In 1978 an area of low pressure formed off of the North Carolina coast. I was in economics class in Hartford, Connecticut. At 10:15 AM it was cloudy and cold with a temperature of twenty seven degrees. At 10:30 AM it was snowing sideways and obscuring some of the buildings on campus that were in plain view just ten minutes earlier. I knew exactly where the storm was located and knew we had a great storm ahead of us. Needless to say I have no idea what the rest of the lecture covered. My hat’s off the National Weather Service. With the limited computer guidance available back then their forecast was for one to two feet of snow before any snow began falling. Governor Ella Grasso, the first woman elected governor, closed Connecticut down by 1:30 PM. It continued to snow heavily until about midnight. The snow tapered off to light snow and flurries until about the 2:00 PM the next day. Late in the afternoon the storm actually moved back toward land. Heavy snow bands moved from east to west. Another four to six inches fell bringing the total in Hartford to 16" - 22". In Boston, it too was a storm of epic proportions. The Blizzard of ’78 was named Larry. Forecasters named Nor’easters in the winter. Larry was the third in a succession of Nor’easters. Boston had between 6” – 12” on the ground from the two previous storms. Boston recorded 27.1" with Woonsocket, RI recording and unbelievable 38”. This storm had an ‘eye’ and produced 80 mph winds along the coast of Massachusetts. National only received 2.2" but Baltimore received 9.1"  ¶ 5:14 PM 1 Comments Links to this post

  National Weatherman's Day National Weatherman's Day, February 5

Well, Tuesday, February 5th is National Weatherman's Day. I'm not so sure of the origin of this day. No one else is either. Apparently a man by the name of John Jeffries is considered one of our first weathermen. Jeffries was born on this date in 1744. He kept weather records from 1774 to 1816. I cannot find much about this man. Most of the references claim he was born in 1745 and not 1744. There is a John Jeffries House in Boston. You can stay there if you are visiting Boston and want to be in the Beacon Hill district. The house also provides rooms for patients and families attending to the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. Dr John Jeffries and Dr. Edward Reynolds founded the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in October of 1824. This clinic was free to Boston's poor citizens. This may have been the son of Dr. John Jeffries who was also a Boston physician and lived from 1745 - 1819. Born American, Jeffries flew in a balloon across the English Channel in 1785. Some argue he was the first American to fly. Since flying and meteorology are intertwined I think this might be our guy. Jeffries was quoted as saying ballooning could "lead…to a full investigation of the nature and properties of the atmosphere". Dr. Jeffries, while American testified on behalf of the defense in the Boston Massacre Trial leading some to classify him as a Loyalist. In any event I think National Weatherman's Day is a long way from taking off so to speak.  ¶ 5:35 PM 1 Comments Links to this post

  Groundhog Day is a Better Movie Groundhog Day

Every February 2nd a group of bearded men reach in a cage and pull out a groundhog. The two most famous or infamous are Punxsutawney Phil in Pennsylvania and Beauregard Lee in Georgia. The lore is that if he sees his shadow he gets scared and runs back into his lair preparing for six more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t see his shadow then he remains out and declares winter over. This February marks the 122nd year of this rather bizarre tradition. He has declared spring only 14 times. He has not seen his shadow only thirteen percent of the time. I guess the television lights don’t count.

The Roman’s celebrated a similar day also in early February. There are a lot of pagan ties to this day and tradition. February’s Latin derivatives imply February to be a month for purification. In England this day was called Candlemas Day. This day was celebrated by a parade of candles. This day marked the mid point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. Much like Phil’s idea of forecasting if the weather were nice on that day then more winter was ahead but if the weather were bad then here comes spring. Later the tradition in England involved hedgehogs. Hedgehogs were chosen because they are insectivores. If the insects were out then the hedgehogs were out and winter was over. Since we have no hedgehogs we use groundhogs (ground squirrel). So let’s get this straight...we use the wrong animal for the wrong thing for a pagan holiday. In fact the groundhog hibernates and would not be out and about anyway. Sometimes Phil bites his handler. Can you blame him ?  ¶ 3:20 PM 2 Comments Links to this post