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Busted forecasts, high weather dudes, and a pumped up website

Jason Samenow @ 1:32 AM

Snow on 2/3 by Kevin AmbroseYesterday's snow
Yes--the weather community (including CapitalWeather) was caught a bit off guard by what happened yesterday. But I wouldn't call it a major forecast bust [let's discount Bob Ryan being "reasonably confident" of his forecast made Monday for rain and 45 and Doug Hill's call for a "stray flurry or drizzle" at noon yesterday]. At CapitalWeather, we had been talking about the chance of some wintry precip on Thursday since Monday. And CapitalWeather did throw in a mention of wet snow in yesterday's post. Finally, at 11am yesterday, I commented up to 1" of slushy snow was possible. While we clearly underestimated the storm, the impact of the snow was minimal given the fact temps were at or above freezing for most of the event. And although 1 to 3 slushy inches fell in the suburbs (mostly sticking to grassy areas), little or no snow accumulated downtown (National Airport recorded 0.1"). So not a big deal, but pretty to look at and good for conversation.

Friday through Sunday Forecast
Today, it will be a bit brisk -- with mostly cloudy skies, and highs 40-45. But the weekend looks great. Look for abundant sunshine each day, with highs near 50. Those shaded areas still full of snow may finally start melting.


All Doug Hill, All The Time
While I just hit Doug with a cheap shot (and Bob Ryan -- but I'm allowed to as one of his former interns), he's a good forecaster and, better yet, a good guy. Now he has his own channel. Here's the first paragraph from WJLA's press release:
Your weather forecast, when you want it. Today, Allbritton Communications and ABC7/WJLA-TV launch Doug Hill's ABC7 Weather Now channel. It's metro Washington's only live, local forecast available 24-hours a day.
If you have Comcast Digital Cable, you can tune into Doug on Channel 225.

Turn on, tune in, drop out
When you tune into Doug, you know you'll be getting a strong communicator with a polished presentation. But be careful about watching Ohio University's weatherman. Not sure if this guy was on something or whether on-camera presentation just isn't his thing, but based on this weathercast, American Idol's Simon Cowell would probably call this dude the worst weatherman in the universe.

Of course, this guy has nothing on legendary ex-weatherman Mark Mathis (video), who we showed you last week.

One Year of CapitalWeather.com
Jamie had the honor of commemorating our one year anniversary yesterday. The site has grown tremendously and I'm thrilled with the progress we've made. I'd like to thank the entire CapitalWeather.com team, including Kevin Ambrose, Dan Stillman and Matt Ross -- our newest additions. Of course, thanks are also due to Josh Larson and Andrew Freedman, who have been here from the beginning. Most of all, I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Jamie Jones -- our webmaster -- who has spent hours designing and programming the site. I anticipate significant improvements and enhancements in the next year as we continue striving to make CapitalWeather.com THE PLACE Washingtonians come to for accurate, useful and entertaining weather information. Keep visiting, commenting, and spread the word. We really appreciate your support and participation.

Pictured: Heavy snow falls in McLean, Virginia. By CapitalWeather.com photographer Kevin Ambrose.

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