Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Nothing to See Here
Dan Stillman @ 1:10 AM
While fires rage in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico, and flooding rains cause more than $200 million in damage in California, the weather around here remains, in a word, unremarkable. And yet, remark we will ...
Forecast First
Today: As Jason predicted on Monday, we'll be between low-pressure systems today, as one moves off to our northeast and the next one tracks across the Midwest. The result for us will be a mostly cloudy day with light winds and a high near 45. Tonight: As the low coming out of the Midwest passes to our north, we'll have about a 25 percent chance of seeing a few showers, especially north of town. Otherwise, cloudy with lows in the mid-to-upper 30s. Tomorrow: A slight chance of a shower early, before morning rush. Then partly cloudy with a high in the upper 40s to near 50.
Friday: Northerly flow brings in cooler air as a storm develops off the coast. Chances are we'll see little impact from the coastal storm, but our Snow Lover's Crystal Ball at the end of this post is keeping an eye on things just in case. Expect a high in the low 40s. Saturday: Cold with highs struggling to reach 40. Sunday: Not as cold with a high in the mid 40s.
Buggin' Out at WJLA
Thanks to DCRTV for noting that WeatherBug has dropped their long-standing partnership with Channel 4 and instead has joined forces with Channel 7. The folks over at 7 are just a little bit excited -- as of press time they were promoting the new alliance on a special entry page to the station's Web site. To the right is what visitors to www.wjla.com were seeing (and maybe still are) before ever getting to the main home page.
Developed by the Germantown-based AWS Convergence Technologies Inc., WeatherBug provides real-time weather information via a network of 8,000 stations at schools, public safety facilities and TV stations, according to the WeatherBug Web site. A desktop application is available for download at no charge.
Superstitious About Snow
A third-grader from Leesburg is featured in an Associated Press story about the zany rituals performed by kids and adults wishing for snow and a day off of school or work. Wearing pajamas inside out, flushing ice cubes down the toilet and placing silverware under pillows are just a few of the superstitious acts carried out by those interviewed.
Here at CapitalWeather.com we have our own tried and true methods. Typically we gather on the Mall where Jason leads us in group meditation. Once everyone is relaxed, Josh starts things off by recapping and grading -- using the CapitalWeather.com grading scale -- the effectiveness of our last pre-storm ceremony. Matt then chants a series of numbers representing snowfall totals from the last 100 storms to drop measurable snow at DCA.
Meanwhile, as Kevin photographs the happenings between repeated snapshots of the Washington Monument, Steve is set up off to the side where, with a portable shredding machine, he rips up a week's worth of Washington Posts (we're not sure if this has anything to do with snow or if he is simply carrying out his normal evening activity). To cap things off, yours truly leads the team as we watch replays of that evening's local newscasts and throw tomatoes at any forecaster sounding overly pessimistic about the possibility of snow.
Finally, we all head home except for Camden, who settles in with a Blackberry and a cup of coffee -- the Blackberry so that he can submit a comment to the Web site upon seeing the very first snowflake, and the coffee in case he needs stay up all night waiting for it. Jamie also sticks around just to make sure Camden, in all his excitement, doesn't spill coffee all over the Blackberry.
Unfortunately, with prospects dim for snow in the immediate future, the only ritual with any chance of working is to move as far away from Washington as possible.
Stop Saying That
Two weather-related terms -- "Hunker down" and "FEMA" -- are part of a list of words and phrases to be banished. The list is issued annually, in good fun, by Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. Regarding FEMA, Josh Hamilton of Tucson, Ariz., is quoted in the LSSU press release as saying, "If they don't do anything, we don't need their acronym."
Snow Lover's Crystal Ball 
Next Chance of Accumulating Snow: Friday January 6th-Sat January 7th
Probability: 15%
Potential Impact:
Commentary: It looks like a coastal low will form on Friday, but far enough off the coast that we'll probably see little impact, if any. We're not ready to give up on this one completely, but don't hold your breath snow lovers.
Forecast First
Today: As Jason predicted on Monday, we'll be between low-pressure systems today, as one moves off to our northeast and the next one tracks across the Midwest. The result for us will be a mostly cloudy day with light winds and a high near 45. Tonight: As the low coming out of the Midwest passes to our north, we'll have about a 25 percent chance of seeing a few showers, especially north of town. Otherwise, cloudy with lows in the mid-to-upper 30s. Tomorrow: A slight chance of a shower early, before morning rush. Then partly cloudy with a high in the upper 40s to near 50.Friday: Northerly flow brings in cooler air as a storm develops off the coast. Chances are we'll see little impact from the coastal storm, but our Snow Lover's Crystal Ball at the end of this post is keeping an eye on things just in case. Expect a high in the low 40s. Saturday: Cold with highs struggling to reach 40. Sunday: Not as cold with a high in the mid 40s.Buggin' Out at WJLA
Thanks to DCRTV for noting that WeatherBug has dropped their long-standing partnership with Channel 4 and instead has joined forces with Channel 7. The folks over at 7 are just a little bit excited -- as of press time they were promoting the new alliance on a special entry page to the station's Web site. To the right is what visitors to www.wjla.com were seeing (and maybe still are) before ever getting to the main home page.Developed by the Germantown-based AWS Convergence Technologies Inc., WeatherBug provides real-time weather information via a network of 8,000 stations at schools, public safety facilities and TV stations, according to the WeatherBug Web site. A desktop application is available for download at no charge.
Superstitious About Snow
A third-grader from Leesburg is featured in an Associated Press story about the zany rituals performed by kids and adults wishing for snow and a day off of school or work. Wearing pajamas inside out, flushing ice cubes down the toilet and placing silverware under pillows are just a few of the superstitious acts carried out by those interviewed.
Here at CapitalWeather.com we have our own tried and true methods. Typically we gather on the Mall where Jason leads us in group meditation. Once everyone is relaxed, Josh starts things off by recapping and grading -- using the CapitalWeather.com grading scale -- the effectiveness of our last pre-storm ceremony. Matt then chants a series of numbers representing snowfall totals from the last 100 storms to drop measurable snow at DCA.
Meanwhile, as Kevin photographs the happenings between repeated snapshots of the Washington Monument, Steve is set up off to the side where, with a portable shredding machine, he rips up a week's worth of Washington Posts (we're not sure if this has anything to do with snow or if he is simply carrying out his normal evening activity). To cap things off, yours truly leads the team as we watch replays of that evening's local newscasts and throw tomatoes at any forecaster sounding overly pessimistic about the possibility of snow.
Finally, we all head home except for Camden, who settles in with a Blackberry and a cup of coffee -- the Blackberry so that he can submit a comment to the Web site upon seeing the very first snowflake, and the coffee in case he needs stay up all night waiting for it. Jamie also sticks around just to make sure Camden, in all his excitement, doesn't spill coffee all over the Blackberry.
Unfortunately, with prospects dim for snow in the immediate future, the only ritual with any chance of working is to move as far away from Washington as possible.
Stop Saying That
Two weather-related terms -- "Hunker down" and "FEMA" -- are part of a list of words and phrases to be banished. The list is issued annually, in good fun, by Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. Regarding FEMA, Josh Hamilton of Tucson, Ariz., is quoted in the LSSU press release as saying, "If they don't do anything, we don't need their acronym."
Next Chance of Accumulating Snow: Friday January 6th-Sat January 7th
Probability: 15%
Potential Impact:
Commentary: It looks like a coastal low will form on Friday, but far enough off the coast that we'll probably see little impact, if any. We're not ready to give up on this one completely, but don't hold your breath snow lovers.
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