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So little daylight, so many topics

Jason Samenow @ 12:46 AM

It's the shortest day of the year, but there's no shortage of weather news.

The Cold: Yesterday's highs and lows were over 20 degrees below normal across the area. The highs and lows at Dulles, BWI and National were 22/10, 23/9 and 24/11 respectively (compared to an average of 46/31). Areas away from the airports and downtown had single digit lows. Windchills were below zero in many instances. Had there been significant snow cover, temperatures would've been ever colder. Here's an article on the cold from The Washington Post: Bitter Wind Chills Area, And Many Lose Power

The Winter Solstice: Today marks the beginning of astronomical winter. After today, the days (now just over 9 hours) start getting longer. In Scandanavia, where daylight lasts a meager six hours, the advent of longer days and Christmas are cause for celebration. Accordingly, the people drink Glogg, a "mulled" or heated wine. Try some: it will brighten your night, warm you up and put you in the holiday spirit.

The Rest of the Week: After a very cold start this morning (teens), temperatures will rise considerably this afternoon into the low 40s. On Wednesday, we crack 50 with partly sunny skies. Thursday will be rainy and mild, with highs around 50. Expect partial clearing Friday with a return to cold and breezy conditions. Highs should be in the 30s. For Christmas Eve holiday travelers, right now travel conditions look OK.

ChristmasCast:
I'm not going to get people's hopes up about a White Christmas. There's been some guidance that has suggested we might be affected by a coastal storm. However, the guidance hasn't been consistent and we're on the edge of any precipitation the storm would produce. The overall pattern doesn't look that favorable to me. I'll stick with my assessment that there's just a 15% chance of snow falling on Christmas Day. Given the storm is still five days away, this assessment should be regarded as tentative, and probabilities could be adjusted upward or downward. Snow or no snow, temperatures look to be sub freezing. FYI, NOAA provides this historical perspective about White Christmases in the US (article found on WxNation.com)

Channel 9 Weather Gal:
DCRTV.net reports it's a done deal that Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, PA Meteorologist Kim Martucci is coming to Channel 9 (WUSA), replacing Hillary Howard as the morning meteorologist. It provides a link to this article about Martucci from the Scranton Times Tribune.

Humor:
Weather outlook 2005: Showers, sun expected (The Spoof.com)

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