Sunday, April 03, 2005
Calming down after the storm
Jason Samenow @ 11:10 PM
What a weekend. From record rains to ferocious wind, it wasn't pretty. The upshot is rapidly improving conditions starting with today.Recapping the storm
All three major airports set rainfall records on Saturday. Reagan National (DCA) recorded 1.79", Dulles (IAD) got 2.07" and BWI received 1.63". Most portions of the DC area received 2-3" of rain from the whole storm (counting Friday). Flooding was reported in a number of areas.
Yesterday's story was the wind. All three airports clocked gusts in excess of 40 mph (41, 43, and 48 mph at DCA, IAD and BWI respectively). The wind essentially ruined the Kite Festival, according to this Washington Post article.
In the mountains of northwest Virginia and eastern West Virginia, 50+ mph wind gusts were common, with one location in Mineral County, WV recording a gust to 64mph. Damage reports were common in these counties. Many of these mountainous areas also got snow Saturday night and Sunday, with 1-3" reported.
The National Weather Service Office in Sterling has a nice summary of storm information in this report.
The Week Ahead
Sunshine returns today, although it will still be on the breezy side and the morning will be chilly (35-40). High temperatures should be between 60-65.
On Tuesday, the winds slacken and temperatures edge warmer with highs near 70 under partly cloudy skies.
Wednesday should be phenomenal. Winds will turn southerly, and finally we'll have a bit of a summer time flow pattern. Look for highs 75-80. That is not a misprint.
Mild conditions should continue on Thursday, although a front will approach, bringing the possibility of showers in the afternoon. High temps should be near 70.
Beyond Thursday, the forecast turns a bit uncertain as some guidance suggests the front may slowdown and/or stall out for Friday and Saturday, which could cause rain to linger into the early part of the weekend. Figures (we can't buy a nice weekend so far this spring). Sunday, while a long way off, looks good.
Winter forecast contest
Congratulations to Jonathan Lubetsky, winner of CapitalWeather.com's winter snowfall prediction contest. He called for 13.25 inches of snow at DCA whereas 12.5" of snow officially fell (narrowly beating entrant John Martin, who called for 13.5"). Accordingly, he gets a Midland All Hazards Weather Radio.
Stay tuned, we're going to announce a new contest for the summer in the next couple of weeks.
Pictured: The Potomac overflows its banks at Great Falls on Sunday. By CapitalWeather.com photographer Kevin Ambrose.
Comments are closed for this archived entry | Link | 
Email this post
Email this post
