Saturday, March 26, 2011

[Kevin Shaw]

VP2 backyard report from Gaithersburg Maryland for Saturday, March 26, 2011

Saturday was clear and cold in the am, sunny and cool in the afternoon, with

increasing clouds in the evening as snow spreads east out of West Virginia and

Virginia. Currently radar shows snow over our region from DC northward,

running west to east from WV into Delaware, but most of it around here is

still not reaching the ground as the air is quite dry, with dew points still in the

teens. With evaporative cooling when the snow finally does reach the surface,

I suspect the temp to go down a few degrees to under freezing, while the

dew point rises into the 20s, closer to sunrise. We should see the snow end

from west to east in the late morning/early afternoon, with no more than an

inch of accumulation, probably only on grassy surfaces. Temps should rise

into the lower 40s in the afternoon after the snow exits and the ceilings lift

into partly cloudy skies by sunset. Clear and cold in the 20s on Sunday and

Monday nights, with sunny and mid 40s temps on Monday and Tuesday. Rain

on Wednesday, then clearing and a bit milder on Thursday before the next

round of rain comes in Thursday and Friday, remaining below normal for

temps but not as cold as tomorrow.

Precipitation/Snowfall for Saturday: 0/0

March precipitation/snowfall 5.00"/0.1"

2011 Year precipitation total: 9.59"

VP2 actual data for Saturday as follows:

High temp 46.4° (1605)

Low temp 28.0° (0527)

Obs temp tonight was 38.0°

Rel hum ranged from a max of 72% at 0515

to a low of 24% at 1511

Dew point ranged from 20° to 10°

Peak Wind Gust was 13 MPH from the N (1032)

Pressures ranged from 30.14" (0847) to 30.03" (0630)

At obs tonight the temp was 38.0°, Cloudy,

winds Calm, barometer 30.06" and steady,

humidity 38% with a dew point of 14°.

Currently (0452 EDT) I have a temperature of 34.4°,

50% rel hum, Cloudy, 17° dew point, pressure of 30.05"

and falling. Winds 4 MPH from the NE. Radar currently showing

widespread snow stretching across the northern parts of Maryland,

Virginia, West Virginia and Delaware, with mixed precip/rain to the

south. However, much of this snow is still not reaching the ground,

as it dries up as it falls into this dry air. Eventually the atmospheric

column will moisten and the snow will reach the ground.

At least I certainly hope so.

For the time being, my VP2 station is offline for the

foreseeable future until I can upload the program

and get it to work on my Windows 7 system.

Kevin the Walrus from Gaithersburg Maryland, signing

off during the early morning hours of Sunday.