Tuesday started out cloudy and a bit mild for the overnight, with light snow starting to fall around 0430 and accumulating only on the grass in light amounts (0.2″ snow, 0.01″ water equivalent) with temps just above the freezing mark and recent warmer weather keeping ground and pavement temps well above the freezing mark, hence roadways and sidewalks remained just wet. The snow only lasted less than 2 hours, as temps started to fall after the snow stopped and clouds slowly lifted and lightened up. Winds increased and blustery conditions remained all day frequently. Sun started to finally come out by mid-day, with just scattered cumulus around by the afternoon but temps stayed below the freezing mark, holding at 30° all morning into the early afternoon. Despite fuller sun in the afternoon, the winds kept the cold air coming in from the N and W and temps continued to drop through the 20s the rest of the day. But the air was increasingly drier and the meager snowfall just evaporated, fueled by the sun and gone before the end of the day. The Tuesday maximum temperature from the VP2 (37.8°) was recorded very early at 0000 while the minimum temperature (21.2°) was recorded just about 24 hours later at 2356. The PM Maximum temperature was 31.2° at 1400 and the earlier min temperature was 30.0° at 1210. My dew point temperatures dropped today, ranging from a high of 31.8° at 0520 down to 7.7° at 2350. Relative humidity values rose early today during the snow then dropped with the cold, dry air coming in later in the day (93% – 47%). Barometric values were low early but rose in the PM hours, ranging from a low of 30.02″ early at 0000 up to a high of 30.36″ late at 2204.

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 thought I would try to shake some of you up with the featured image picture used with this post today. No relation to me or even to the U.S. This awesome mountain is the 2nd highest mtn in Pakistan, some 26, 660 feet above sea level. Nanga Parbat is a most foreboding mountain at all times to climb to the very lofty summit, and especially so in the winter due to extremely harsh wintertime conditions like blizzards, high winds and extreme cold. A second semi-successful winter climb of it was just completed, but one of the two in the summit party didn’t make it back down unfortunately. The full story on it with more pictures can be found on the following NPR website at: https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/01/29/581530678/after-harrowing-weekend-rescue-one-climber-saved-one-lost-to-killer-mountain

We have continued to get colder through Tuesday evening and into the overnight, with temps now in the upper teens and dew points in the upper single digits early this Wednesday morning at 0639. Wednesday should be partly cloudy as we wrap up the month of January with highs in the upper 30s and lows around the freezing mark. February will start out on Thursday on a milder note under partly to mostly cloudy skies and a 40 POP for PM showers, with highs around 50° and lows in the mid 20s. A return to cold and partly cloudy skies on Ground Hog Day Friday, with highs in the upper 20s and lows in the mid-upper teens with frequent windy, blustery conditions dropping wind chill temps towards the 0° mark . Saturday should be mostly sunny with highs in the mid-upper 30s and lows around 30°. Right now Sunday looks cloudy with a 90 POP for rain and/or snow, with highs around 40° and lows around 30°.

On the Channel 4 weather website at 0700 radar is showing snow over parts of the upper Midwest in sections of WI and MI at this time.

As of 0700, 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 and colder at the present time.

Station Relative Location Temp RH DP   BP    Wind High/Low temp Tuesday
VP2              Ground       18.6  67  9 30.39R   NA   37.8/21.2 PM Max 31.8/Early Min 30.0

There was 0.01″ of precipitation in the cocorahs gauge on Tuesday through midnight obs. The VP2 tipping bucket rain gauge under my balcony recorded no precipitation on Tuesday through midnight. Snow is not read through the VP2, grassy ground snowfall was 0.2″ in the early morning hours. Before the sun set on Tuesday the snow was all gone, evaporated from the sun and dessicating winds we had all afternoon.

Tuesday’s precipitation 0.01″
January precipitation is now 1.83″.
Tuesday snowfall 0.2″
January snowfall is 1.4″.
Snow on ground 0.0″ (reported to the nearest half-inch)
The seasonal snowfall total is 5.2″.
Year-to-date precipitation total is 1.83″

WX Bug Lakewood 4500 ft, 17 65 7 30.33″S NNE 1 G SW 6
                            140° from station                 37/18

The Lakewood rain gauge recorded no precipitation on Tuesday. It is now reporting 2.23″ monthly and yearly January 2018 precipitation, up 0.04″ unexplicably from yesterday’s report.

Temperature from the VP2 at 2400 was 21.2 RH 56% BP 30.35S DP 8.0. Clear and colder at 2400.

Good morning from the clear, cold, dry but snowless Walrus on this early Wednesday morning.