Saturday was a glorious day, nice and wintry with cloudy, cold skies and an all day beautiful light snow (2.0″ total – average of 4 measurements on the snowboard and a 0.21″ snow water equivalent (SWE)) that only accumulated on trees, grass and car tops, and left the roadways and sidewalks just wet) (see several pictures below – small file size), but later on in the evening turned icy. I had to wear these ice gripper spikes on my shoes to go out to the precipitation gauge and snowboard (see featured image picture for this post) at my midnight obs. Saturday temperatures stayed in the mid 30s overnight while the storm was slowly moving in, dew points staying down in the mid 20s. In the mid-morning hours around 0900 the temperature dropped to just below the freezing mark, the dew point rose into the upper 20s, and snow started to fall. I was napping at my computer, waiting to see the snow start. The temperature stayed below freezing during the entire snowfall till the early evening around 1900. Then the temperature dropped into the upper 20s for the dry later evening. Dew points were mostly in the 20s all day. The Saturday minimum temperature from the VP2 (27.8°) was recorded at 2303 while the maximum temperature (36.3°) was recorded at the very beginning of the day at 0000. Dew point temps ranged from 30° at 0403 down to 24° at 0000. Relative humidity values rose dramatically once the snow started to fall and remained high the rest of the day (95% – 62%). Barometric values lowered from yesterday, ranging from a high of 30.01″ at 0232 down to 29.81″ at 1432.

Remember now you can get the VP2 data on Weatherlink. You can access the data through http://www.weatherlink.com/user/walrusman444.

I am also now on weather underground. My ID is KMDROCKV200 and my station is called “Gardens of Traville.” Data is online, normally just about in real-time. I contribute daily to cocorahs as Rockville 2.8 WNW, Station ID MD-MG-115. Please take note that Weather Underground does not report snow data, and reflects what is recorded automatically through the tipping bucket VP2 gauge. Cocorahs, however, does reflect the snowfall data, as I manually input that data myself from my 4 inch “manual” gauge catch that I read and melt myself.

I never really went to bed, just napped on my computer chair by the sliding glass door and my balcony so I could watch the snow falling all day. I monitored the local snowfall amounts as they came in, and the radar to follow the storm’s progress through the region. A great source for local snowfall amounts are in cocorahs and also in the Public Information Statements put out by the local (Sterling VA) NWS forecast office. 

Sunday morning finds us still cloudy, a slowly lifting cirroform overcast that should give way to at least partial clearing later, with highs around 40° and lows in the mid 20s. Monday and Tuesday look to be partly cloudy and a tad warmer, with highs in the lower mid 40s and lows around freezing on Monday and around 20° on Tuesday. Wednesday looks sunny and cold, with highs around 30° and lows around 20°.

On the Channel 4 weather website at 1006 radar is showing our snow has moved out of the area but with snow showers falling over several areas of PA, NY and New England at this time.

As of 1006, the data from the VP2 (coming from the ground radiation shield about 4 feet off the ground just under and out from the balcony) and the Lakewood WXBug station are as follows :

Station Relative Location Temp RH DP    BP     Wind High/Low temp today
VP2              Ground          34.1  73  26 30.10R   NA   36.3/27.8 (Low since midnight 27.6 @ 0141)

There was a total of 0.21″ of water that melted from the snow accumulation, which measured out at an average of 4 readings on the snowboard at 2.0″ on Saturday through midnight. Whether I lost some snow from compaction or not I don’t know at this point – at least it wasn’t from melting or ablation. The VP2 tipping bucket rain gauge under my balcony recorded no precipitation through midnight obs on Saturday since the gauge has no way to melt the snow and have the water drip through. If the gauge warms up enough later today, the snow may start to melt and record some of the water equivalent of the snow.

December precipitation is 0.40″ through midnight obs Saturday.

December snowfall is now 2.0″. The seasonal snowfall total is also now 2.0″.

Year-to-date precipitation total is 38.91″

WX Bug Lakewood 4500 ft, 34 68 24 30.03R WSW 5 G WSW 10
                              140° from station                               35/27

The Lakewood rain gauge recorded no precipitation through midnight on Saturday. Mechanisms are the same as with my VP2 gauge, perhaps some melting will occur later today and we will start seeing the snowmelt water passing through its recording sensors. They are still reporting 0.22″ of precipitation falling up to this point in December, and a grand total of 39.56″ of rain for the year-to-date value.

Temp from the VP2 at 2400 was 28.1 RH 95% BP 29.88R DP 26.9. Cloudy and dry in the air but icy underfoot at midnight.

Good morning from the cloudy and currently dry (but icy underfoot) with a beautiful cover of snow on the ground from the Snowywalrus early on this Sunday morning.