Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Cold-Cocked
Dan Stillman @ 12:20 AM
Last week at this time the Washington area was about to receive a brief taste of November. Now, the main course is on its way to the table.
The cold front serving up our coldest air of the season thus far will trigger scattered showers this morning, and a more solid line of showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening. The front, which spawned multiple tornados in the Tennessee Valley yesterday, has a history of producing severe weather. There's a slight chance that a few storms affecting our area today will be severe. The main threat from these storms will be heavy rain and strong winds. The image to the right indicates the likelihood of damaging winds over our area, courtesy of NOAA's Storm Prediction Center. Southerly flow ahead of the front should bump temps to an early-afternoon high around 70, before they nosedive later in the afternoon and tonight. Expect a breezy chill in the air and temps in the low 50s by evening rush.
Tonight will be partly cloudy and cold, with morning lows 35-40. Partly sunny, cold and windy tomorrow as highs struggle to the mid-to-upper 40s, wind chills in the upper 30s. Tomorrow night is when the cold air really settles in as low temps bottom out in the upper 20s downtown, low 20s in the suburbs.
The winds calm down on Friday, but it will continue to be partly sunny and cold with highs only in the mid 40s. Temps moderate into the low-to-mid 50s over the weekend under partly sunny skies.
Another Scoop From Howard's Hilltop
This just in: Layering is a great way to keep warm in cold weather. The breaking news comes from Howard University's student newspaper, the Hilltop, which has scooped local and national media for the third straight week. It's hard to say whether the layering exposé is a bigger story than last week's article blaming the weather for the common cold, or the previous week's bashing of Mid-Atlantic weather forecasters. The layering story has some revealing quotes on both the science and fashion of layering:
Clean Air, Dirty Water
Two efforts to clean up the environment are going in opposite directions.
In Virginia's Shenandoah National Park, ozone levels have dropped significantly from their unhealthy peak in 1998. Federally mandated controls on emissions from power plants and factories are partly to thank for the cleaner air.
The news for the Chesapeake Bay is not as good, however. Decades of work to clean up the bay has resulted in little to no progress. A recently released report gives the quality of the bay's waters, habitat and fish a letter grade of D. A lack of political will is blamed for the failure to reduce pollution in the bay.
Other Notes
Next Chance of Snow: Sunday, Nov. 20
Probability: 5%
Potential Impact:
Commentary: Earlier in the week we told you our only shot of seeing any of the white stuff in the near future was a slim chance of a flurry on Sunday. That chance still looks to be slim at best, but our crystal ball will keep searching for signs of this season's first flakes. The next chance may be in about a week.
The cold front serving up our coldest air of the season thus far will trigger scattered showers this morning, and a more solid line of showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening. The front, which spawned multiple tornados in the Tennessee Valley yesterday, has a history of producing severe weather. There's a slight chance that a few storms affecting our area today will be severe. The main threat from these storms will be heavy rain and strong winds. The image to the right indicates the likelihood of damaging winds over our area, courtesy of NOAA's Storm Prediction Center. Southerly flow ahead of the front should bump temps to an early-afternoon high around 70, before they nosedive later in the afternoon and tonight. Expect a breezy chill in the air and temps in the low 50s by evening rush.Tonight will be partly cloudy and cold, with morning lows 35-40. Partly sunny, cold and windy tomorrow as highs struggle to the mid-to-upper 40s, wind chills in the upper 30s. Tomorrow night is when the cold air really settles in as low temps bottom out in the upper 20s downtown, low 20s in the suburbs.
The winds calm down on Friday, but it will continue to be partly sunny and cold with highs only in the mid 40s. Temps moderate into the low-to-mid 50s over the weekend under partly sunny skies.
Another Scoop From Howard's Hilltop
This just in: Layering is a great way to keep warm in cold weather. The breaking news comes from Howard University's student newspaper, the Hilltop, which has scooped local and national media for the third straight week. It's hard to say whether the layering exposé is a bigger story than last week's article blaming the weather for the common cold, or the previous week's bashing of Mid-Atlantic weather forecasters. The layering story has some revealing quotes on both the science and fashion of layering:- "It's important to wear layers in those winter months, because if you don't, you're going to freeze!" says a junior biology major.
- "I layer because I like to wear a lot of colors. I layer if I don't see enough colors in my outfit or it's cold outside because I don't own many big coats, so I just layer," says a sophomore fashion merchandising major.
Clean Air, Dirty Water
Two efforts to clean up the environment are going in opposite directions.
In Virginia's Shenandoah National Park, ozone levels have dropped significantly from their unhealthy peak in 1998. Federally mandated controls on emissions from power plants and factories are partly to thank for the cleaner air.
The news for the Chesapeake Bay is not as good, however. Decades of work to clean up the bay has resulted in little to no progress. A recently released report gives the quality of the bay's waters, habitat and fish a letter grade of D. A lack of political will is blamed for the failure to reduce pollution in the bay.
Other Notes
- Baltimore's WJZ-TV asks "What if a Category 4 Hurricane Hit Maryland?"
- Dilbert Catches a Weather Surfer
- The latest on Tropical Depression 27.
Snow Lover's Crystal Ball
Next Chance of Snow: Sunday, Nov. 20
Probability: 5%
Potential Impact:
Commentary: Earlier in the week we told you our only shot of seeing any of the white stuff in the near future was a slim chance of a flurry on Sunday. That chance still looks to be slim at best, but our crystal ball will keep searching for signs of this season's first flakes. The next chance may be in about a week.
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