Friday was mostly sunny, a tad milder PM but still freezing in the early AM (through 3/24 20 of 24 days have had freezing mins this March), with the snowpack just about wiped out from the strong March sun. Temperatures rebounded after the sub-freezing 30° minima to reach the mid 40s by mid-afternoon. A 1 inch snowpack early melted off to a very patchy trace by the end of the day. It was still breezy at times. The Friday maximum temperature from the VP2 (45.2°) was recorded at 1630 while the minimum temperature (30.1°) was recorded at 0727. Dew point temperatures lowered today, ranging from a high of 25° at 1416 down to a low of 18° a bit later at 1832. Relative humidity values predictably lowered later today (69% – 36%). Barometric values rose some more today, ranging from a low of 30.11″ at 1536 up to a high of 30.22″ much later at 2345.

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. The web address for my data on weather underground is: https://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=KMDrockv200#history/ I contribute daily to cocorahs as Rockville 2.8 WNW, Station ID MD-MG-115 on https://www.cocorahs.org/ Please remember that Weather Underground does not report snow data, and reflects what is recorded automatically through the tipping bucket VP2 gauge. I use the data I post to cocorahs as my “official” precipitation total each day.

Overnight Friday into Saturday was clear with temps dropping through the 30s. The VP2 rain gauge caught up with melted runoff that totaled an additional 0.14″ for the day. That brings me pretty close (combined Tuesday/Wednesday VP2 rain gauge total of 0.96″) to the 2 day total from my cocorahs gauge of 1.01″. Partly cloudy skies on Saturday and Sunday with highs in the upper 40s on Saturday and low 40s on Sunday and lows in the mid-upper 20s. There is a storm tracking from the NW out of the midwest SE to our south and west that will be producing these clouds over the weekend at times. Sunny skies on Monday, with highs in the mid-upper 40s and lows in the mid-upper 20s. Tuesday should feature highs around 50° under mostly cloudy skies and lows above freezing (mid 30s). Wednesday should be cloudy but with only a 20 POP for rain, highs in the low 50s and lows in the low 40s.

On the Channel 4 weather website at 0953 radar is showing a good picture of the storm to our SW as it tracks NW/SE through the lower midwest (Iowa) then IL, IN, KY, TN, SW VA and NC at this time.

As of 0953, 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:

Clear (with cirrus moving in over the past hour or so), cold, only a few snow patches left remaining unfortunately.

Station Relative Location Temp RH DP    BP       Wind High/Low temp Friday
VP2            Ground         37.7  59  24 30.27″R   NA    45.2/30.1

The total precipitation in the cocorahs gauge was 0.00″ through midnight Friday. The VP2 tipping bucket rain gauge under my balcony showed an additional 0.14″ snowmelt passing through the gauge through midnight Friday. (two day (Thur/Fri) total of 0.50″ and three-day (Tue, Thur, Fri) total of 0.96″)

Friday’s precipitation was 0.00″
Two-day (Tuesday/Wednesday) storm total 1.01″
March precipitation is 1.45″
Friday’s snowfall 0.0″
March snowfall 4.5″
Snow on ground T (reported to the nearest half-inch)
The seasonal snowfall total is 12.0″
Year-to-date precipitation total is 8.08″

WX Bug Lakewood 4500 ft, 36 56 21 30.23″R WNW 7 G WNW 11
                            140° from station                   45/29
The Lakewood rain gauge recorded 0.00″ of precipitation on Friday. It is reporting a total of 2.76″ of precipitation so far in March and a 2018 year-to-date (YTD) amount of 10.27″.

At 2400 obs Friday night the temperature from the VP2 was 35.8 RH 59% BP 30.22″R DP 22.9.

Clear, not as cold, spotty traces of snow on the ground as of 2400

Good morning from the sunny, cold, barely snowy home of the almost snowless walrus on this Saturday. (Today’s featured image shows a view towards the E from my balcony of the cirrus and other associated high clouds along with a contrail and a bit of a sun pillar)

Other images shown below: First one – 0915 EDT March 24 2018 looking N from my balcony. Notice the lack of snow on the ground within the limits of this image:

Second image – What is left of my snowpack out in the courtyard just under my balcony on 3/24/2018 at 0915 EDT (some of the snow in the picture were artificial man-made piles from shoveling activity)