You Know You're a Weather Geek When . . .
Surface weather map at 1pm today from NWS/NCEP/HPCYou know you're a weather geek when you're hunched over the clattering teletype (in the olden days) or hitting "reload" in your web browser looking for the first report of the season of snowflakes. The excitement this afternoon is over a "clipper" system diving rapidly southeastward from Canada. Normally, this would be one of the least likely scenarios to bring snow to the Nation's Capital region, but this one is stubbornly energetic.
500 mb forecast map at 1pm tomorrow from NWS/NCEP/HPCThe model forecast for the 500 mb level (roughly the middle of the atmosphere) tomorrow shows a strong "piece of energy" (in technical terms, an area of positive
vorticity) extending from the western Great Lakes to the Atlantic Coast associated with this system. The maximum energy is predicted to remain north of the DC area, but precipitation (apparently most of it not yet reaching the ground) has broken out on radar as near as northeast of Charlottesville. A few small scattered areas have also cropped up in far western Loudoun County. Any amounts which manage to reach the immediate metro area are likely to be very light.
Meanwhile, temperatures have had a hard time breaking the big 4-0 in most reporting locations. The official high so far appears to be 40 after an overnight low just below freezing.
Tonight and TomorrowTonight, light snow or flurries should move in by midnight. Accumulations of up to an inch are possible on some grassy areas in the metro area, more in the higher elevations to the west. Lows should be in the low to mid 30s. Tomorrow will be partly cloudy and cold, highs in the low 40s, but dropping to the 30s in the afternoon.
Tropical BeatYou know you're a weather geek when you're still looking for tropical storms at Thanksgiving. The gale-force storm in the central Atlantic southwest of the Azores continued to become more tropical as it drifted southward. It officially became record-breaking Tropical Storm Delta as of 4pm with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph. Some strengthening is possible, in which case it could at least briefly become a hurricane. It is unlikely to threaten land as it
meanders southeastward before turning north.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!