Monday was another cloudy day, but the sky became brighter in the afternoon and the sun briefly appeared just before sunset for the first appearance by the sun since last Wednesday. Temperatures remained cool, and tonight the temperature is headed down towards the freezing mark with upper 30s at midnight under clear skies. It should reach the freezing mark by sunrise. The Monday maximum temperature from the VP2 (50.7°) was recorded at 0448 while the minimum temperature (38.9°) was recorded late at 2357. Dew point temperatures dropped all day, ranging from a high of 48° at 0000 down to a low of 28° late at 2335. Relative humidity values were quite high early but dropped off later in the day (98% – 52%). Barometric values rose most of the day, ranging from a low of 30.05″ at 0022 up to a high of 30.36″ late at 2349.

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 spoke several times with Ray about our book orders and also about his phone problems, which in the end has resolved itself (for now) nicely. I got a bit more of DC-AMS Chapter Science Fair work done, mostly minor data-base updates, follow-up emails, but also an important networking call to our DC-AMS Treasurer, who has been a very reliable and most excellent judge in past years. I am hoping he can cover the Northern VA fair this Saturday. He has worked it before, and it is a very popular, well-run fair. Time is getting short for the fairs of early March, and I only have a few volunteers lined up so far for the entire season that runs into April. I posted a quick GLOBE observation in the latter stages of the afternoon as the ceilings were starting to lift, but today’s feature image shows a bit of a curious cloud formation right along the horizon about the apartment building, hints of undulatus asperatus, or wave cloud – hard to see but enlarge the image and you should be able to see a bit of some developing waves.

We remained cool, cloudy, but less damp on Monday, with rising ceilings and actually a bit of sun in the late afternoon. A clear night overnight into Tuesday has dropped the temps into the mid 30s, but not sure now that we will make it to the freezing mark by morning. Tuesday looks sunny with highs in the mid-upper 50s and lows in the upper 30s. Wednesday should turn cloudy, with highs in the upper 50s and lows in the mid 40s. On Thursday rain (90 POP) is expected to return just in time for the monthly changeover from February to March, with high temps in the low 50s and lows in the upper 30s. Friday looks colder with windy and AM showery conditions (40 POP) with high temps in the mid 40s and lows in the low-mid 30s. Saturday should be partly cloudy and chilly, with highs in the mid 40s and lows around 30°.

On the Channel 4 weather website at 0433 radar is remarkably clear throughout the Eastern U.S. with no precipitation returns visible on my screen.

As of 0433, 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, colder, drier

Station Relative Location Temp RH DP   BP     Wind High/Low temp Monday
VP2             Ground        38.0  65 27 30.41R   NA     50.7/38.9

The total rainfall in the cocorahs gauge was 0.00″ through midnight Monday. The VP2 tipping bucket rain gauge under my balcony had a renegade 0.01″ recorded through midnight Monday. It might be some residual moisture off the conifer tree very closeby to the gauge which sometimes occurs.

Monday’s precipitation 0.00″
February precipitation is 4.80″
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 6.63″

WX Bug Lakewood 4500 ft, 39 52 23 30.38″S NW 2 G NNW 3
                            140° from station                     50/38

The Lakewood rain gauge recorded a renegade 0.04″ of precipitation on Monday. It is now reporting 5.26″ for a monthly (February) total and 2018 year-to-date (YTD) amount of 7.51″. It is reporting another 0.01″ renegade amount since midnight – it has been totally clear since midnight so I don’t know where that 0.01″ came from, along with the usual problems with their monthly and yearly totals which don’t agree with the daily incremental changes their system reports.

At 2400 obs Monday night the temperature from the VP2 was 38.9 RH 67% BP 30.35″R DP 29.0. Clear, colder, drying out.

Good morning from the clear, colder, drying out Walrus early on this Tuesday. There are some significant local temperature variations late tonight. I hit 34° earlier but now have risen 4° over the past hour or so. Another spot locally is reporting 28°. No great wind changes out there, light from the NW, and totally clear throughout the region.