President’s Day Monday was a bit showery (0.02″) around sunrise, then cloudy and mild the rest of the day with only a bit of spotty drizzle and fog at times in the late evening and overnight into Tuesday. Temps rose to the mid 40s by mid-afternoon, very similar to Sunday. The Monday maximum temperature from the VP2 (46.7°) was recorded late at 2342 while the minimum temperature (37.7°) was recorded very early at 0018. Dew point temperatures ranged from a low of 32° at 0000 up to a high of 46° at 2326. Relative humidity values were high most of the day (97% – 80%). Barometric values rose more today early then falling off a bit by mid-afternoon, ranging from a high of 30.52″ at 0722 down to a low of 30.35″ at 1621.

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

I am posting daily to 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 remember that Weather Underground does not report snow data, and reflects what is recorded automatically through the tipping bucket VP2 gauge.

I got a bit more DC-AMS Chapter Science Fair work done, mostly through Staples delivery online, where I ordered mailing envelopes needed for sending out award certificates in the next few months, and a few other miscellaneous supplies. I didn’t get any more 2018 master spreadsheet January data input done unfortunately. I chatted with Marty and Ray in the evening a few times about my recent data collection problems and also a lot with Marty about the GLOBE observation program. Both Marty and I completed our first GLOBE observations successfully as “citizen scientists”. We mostly report on the nature and quality of the cloud types at observation, and try to take pictures up at the sky to coincide with Satellite flyovers – a “ground truth” for the Satellites. Fascinating, much more to it that will be brought out in the coming months. 

We still had some fog, but nothing as heavy as yesterday, overnight from Sunday into Monday. Monday started off cloudy with light early AM showers (.02″ in the tipping bucket and my cocorahs gauge) with temps in the upper 30s then continued cloudy the rest of the day with temps hovering in the low 40s by afternoon, warming late into the mid 40s by midnight observation time as a warm front finished passing on through. Overnight into Tuesday we continued cloudy, at times foggy, with slowly rising temps. On Tuesday the warm up will continue under partly cloudy skies (AM clouds/PM sun) with highs in the low 70s and lows in the mid 50s. Wednesday will be mostly sunny and warm (mid 70s) with lows in the upper 40s. Thursday should cool off, with highs around 50° and lows in the upper 30s and a 90 POP for rain under a mantle of clouds. On Friday conditions should remain cloudy with a 60 POP for showers, highs around 50° and lows in the upper 40s. On Saturday more clouds and rain (90 POP), with highs in the low 60s and lows in the low 50s. Sunday looks to continue this cooler, wet pattern.

On the Channel 4 weather website at 1043 radar is showing rain has moved north as the warm front continues to advance in that direction, stretching across northern NY, VT, and NH, along with parts of central Maine. Further west the front is more of a traditional cold front, kicking off showers in a NE/SW line through IL, IN and MO and posts SW.

As of 1043, 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:

Partly cloudy, mild, and damp but with increasing sunlight

Station Relative Location Temp RH DP    BP     Wind High/Low temp Saturday
VP2            Ground         64.0  80  58 30.39F   NA    46.7/37.7

The total rainfall in the cocorahs gauge was 0.02″ through midnight Monday. The VP2 tipping bucket rain gauge under my balcony also recorded 0.02″ through midnight Monday.

Monday’s precipitation 0.02″
February precipitation is 3.94″
February snowfall 2.0″
Snow on ground 0 (reported to the nearest half-inch)
The seasonal snowfall total is 7.5″.
Year-to-date precipitation total is 5.77″

WX Bug Lakewood 4500 ft, 63 74 55 30.39″F SW 3   G W 13 
                            140° from station                        46/37

The Lakewood rain gauge recorded 0.01″ of precipitation on Monday.. It is now reporting 4.44″ for a monthly (February) total and 2018 year-to-date (YTD) amount of 6.69″.

At 2400 obs Monday night the temperature from the VP2 was 46.6 RH 97% BP 30.36″S DP 45.8. Cloudy, cool, damp with light fog.

Good morning from the partly cloudy (but with sun leaking through the increasing holes in the cloud deck), quite mild and somewhat drying out Walrus not so early on this Tuesday.