Friday started our brief warmup under sunny skies as the roller coaster pattern of up and down temperatures continues with moderate drought conditions predominating. The Thursday maximum temperature from the VP2 (45.4°) was recorded at 1609 while the minimum temperature (24.0°) was recorded at 0524, my coldest min since 16.5° on 1/18. My dew point temperatures were about the same as yesterday, ranging from a low of 20° early at 0000 up to 29° at 2315. Relative humidity values rose a bit today (85% – 48%). Barometric values rose significantly once again all day today from an AM high of 30.74″ at 1016 down to a low of 30.56″ at 2353. That 30.74″ reading was my highest barometric pressure reading since early March 2017.

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.

You can really start to notice now that the sun is setting later, as it is now still sunny at 1700 whereas a month ago the sun had set and was getting dark. I talked with Ray over some current forecasts and tools at our disposal to make those forecasts easier and quicker. I tipped Ray off about the Plymouth State Weather Center (https://vortex.plymouth.edu/) up in NH, where better 500 mb charts (as far as Ray’s preferences goes) can be found that is normally found at NCEP. 

We are warming up some more after a not as cold early AM (low of 33° at 0359) into the low 50s now under sunny skies with just some scattered high clouds (altostratus mostly) on the horizon and moving in above. Mostly sunny on Saturday with highs in the upper 50s and lows in the mid 40s. Clouds should be on the increase late Saturday as an area of rain moves up from the west/southwest. Cloudy with rain (90 POP) on Sunday, with highs around 50° and lows in the low-mid 30s. Monday should be partly cloudy and a tad cooler, with highs in the upper-mid 40s and lows in the upper 20s. Colder on Tuesday with cloudy skies with AM snow showers possible (50 POP) and blustery conditions with highs only up to the mid 30s and lows in the upper teens. Wednesday should feature a return to mostly sunny skies as we wrap up the month of January with highs in the upper 30s and lows around 30°.

On the Channel 4 weather website at 1105 radar is showing rain showers to my W and SW over AL, MS, western TN and western KY northeast into IN and western OH at this time.

As of 1105, 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:

Sunny and warming up at the present time.

Station Relative Location Temp RH DP    BP     Wind High/Low temp Friday
VP2             Ground         53.1  51 35 30.50F   NA      45.4/24.0

There was no precipitation in the cocorahs gauge on Friday through midnight obs. The VP2 tipping bucket rain gauge under my balcony recorded no precipitation on Friday through midnight.

January precipitation is 1.67″.
Friday snowfall 0.0″
January snowfall is 1.2″.
Snow on ground 0.0″ (reported to the nearest half-inch)
The seasonal snowfall total is 5.0″.
Year-to-date precipitation total is 1.67″

WX Bug Lakewood 4500 ft, 53 41 29 30.47″F SSW 11 G SW 16
                            140° from station                           47/21

The Lakewood rain gauge recorded no precipitation on Friday. It is reporting 1.83″ monthly and yearly January 2018 precipitation, unchanged from yesterday’s report.

Temperature from the VP2 at 2400 was 35.3 RH 77% BP 30.56F DP 28.8. Clear, calm and not as cold at 2400.

Good morning from the sunny (with scattered high clouds), warming up and still a snowless Walrus not so early on this Saturday morning.