I composed my entire Tuesday report earlier this morning, but server problems with my email did not allow me to send it, and my email did not save, so it is gone. I have reconstructed a slightly briefer report now. Tuesday was partly to mostly sunny and quite warm. My 76.1 high temp was the warmest daily max temp I have recorded since 78.0 was reached back in October 2017. Wednesday probably will exceed that record. Temps on Tuesday rose to the mid 70s by mid-afternoon, after a mild mid 40s start in the early AM. The Tuesday maximum temperature from the VP2 (76.1°) was recorded at 1646 while the minimum temperature (46.6°) was recorded very early at 0000. Dew point temperatures ranged from a low of 46° at 0000 up to a high of 61° at 1221. Relative humidity values were high early (with early AM light fog) then lowered later (98% – 52%). Barometric values lowered a bit today, ranging from a high of 30.40″ at 0906 down to a low of 30.28″ at 1545.

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, getting a preliminary list of student project titles for the Anne Arundel Fair to review for their fair on March 3, then an update from the DC Stem Fair new POC, with their fair date and new location information. 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 the continued problems with the NCEP produced surface analysis charts, COOP observations and also a lot with Marty about the GLOBE observation program and the Anne Arundel Science Fair. Both Marty and I completed our second GLOBE observations successfully as “citizen scientists”. Today’s featured image here is one of two solar noon pics I took on Tuesday and submitted with my GLOBE report shorly after solar noon. 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. When no satellite flyovers, a time of solar noon (around 20 mins after our actual noon) is preferred. Fascinating, much more to it that will be brought out in the coming months.  I posted a new Mountain ID quiz late in the evening, with a different twist – a spectacular mountain pass picture out in Colorado. 

We still had some fog overnight from Monday into Tuesday. Temps and dew points continued to slowly rise overnight. Wednesday will be partly sunny and warm (upper 70s) with lows in the upper 40s and now a 50 POP for late afternoon/evening thunderstorms. 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 1230 radar is showing an active SW/NE line of showers and storms out to my west, running from Ottawa and points even further NE down to an area of the most active storms centered over much of Arkansas and into neighboring areas in parts of LA and NE TX, with unfortunate flooding going on in certain spots. The cells appear to be moving SW to NE along the front, but the front itself is moving slowly easterly. The storms along the front should get here by the early evening.

As of 1230, 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, warm , and muggy with increasing heat.

Station Relative Location Temp RH DP    BP     Wind  High/Low temp Tuesday
VP2             Ground           75.7  68 64 30.31F    NA    76.1/46.6

The total rainfall in the cocorahs gauge was 0.00″ through midnight Tuesday. The VP2 tipping bucket rain gauge under my balcony also recorded 0.00″ through midnight Tuesday.

Tuesday’s precipitation 0.00″
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, 75 62 60 30.35″F SSW 5 G WSW 22
                              140° from station                                 77/46

The Lakewood rain gauge recorded 0.00″ of precipitation on Tuesday. It is now reporting 4.46″ for a monthly (February) total and 2018 year-to-date (YTD) amount of 6.70″.

At 2400 obs Tuesday night the temperature from the VP2 was 64.8 RH 80% BP 30.34″R DP 58.6. Fair, mild, increasingly damp with light fog.

Good afternoon from the partly cloudy (but with plenty of warm sun, warm and increasingly humid) Walrus just after noon on this Wednesday.