Friday continued our cloudy, showery (0.53″) pattern that had an added twist – the “back-door” cold front slid south today and we got some cool NE breezes that sent temps down into the 50s. The system is winding down as we head into the weekend and should finally end on Sunday. Temperatures maxed out in the mid 60s in the AM but dropped into the 50s later on. Occasional light rain/drizzle/mist and clouds are continuing into the early AM hours of Saturday with continued NE breezes. On Friday the heaviest rain hit well south/southeast of my location once again. Flood watches and warnings continue to be posted in the flood-prone areas of the region. The Friday maximum temperature reached 66.7° @ 1016, while the Friday minimum temperature was 54.3° @ 2359 (midnight obs) . The dew point temperatures lowered later in the day along with the air temperature drop, ranging from a high of 66° @ 0919 down to a low of 53° late @ 2340. The barometric pressure rose with the cooler air, as the HIGH moved closer to my area from New England, reaching the lowest value of the day of 30.06″ @ 0515 up to a high of 30.23″ @ 2229. The relative humidity remained quite high all day, ranging from a low of 93% at 1521 up to a high of 97% at 0014.

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.

Clouds, rain showers (0.53″) fell on occasion as a cool, damp NE wind chilled us down into the 50s by the afternoon after milder mid 60s held for most of the morning hours. We now have had 6 straight days with measurable precipitation (6 day total a modest 3.75″ – areas in Frederick earlier this week had almost double that amount in one day!!!) As I write this on Saturday morning there still is a bit of occasional light rain/drizzle falling at times and a solid, drab, full overcast sealing in all this moisture. A 90 POP for rain/thunder is expected during most of Saturday, with possibly some partial clearing kicking in late in the day. Temps should rise into the mid 70s with lows in the mid 60s. Sunday should start to dry out with partly cloudy skies, highs in the mid 80s, lows in the low 60s and only a 20 POP for any rain. Monday should have mostly cloudy conditions but only a 20 POP for rain, with highs in the low 80s and lows in the mid 60s. Tuesday looks to have partly cloudy skies, with highs in the upper 70s and lows in the mid 60s, and a 50 POP for scattered thunderstorms. Wednesday should be partly cloudy with highs in the low 80s and lows in the low 60s and the rain chances reduced down to a 20 POP. Our week-long persistent battle zone (along an old stalled out stationary frontal boundary) looks to be finally moving out over the weekend, and a drier week looks to be ahead.

On the Channel 4 radar at 0828 still is showing most of the four-state region covered in widespread showers, movement appears to be NNE.

As of 0829, 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 WX Bug station are as follows:

Cloudy, damp, cool with scattered light rain showers at times

Station Relative Location Temp   RH    DP      BP     Wind High/Low temp on Friday
VP2            Ground         55.3°  98%  55° 30.19″S   NA     66.7°/54.3°

The total precipitation in the cocorahs gauge was 0.53″ through midnight Friday. The VP2 tipping bucket rain gauge under my balcony recorded 0.00″ through midnight Tuesday as it continues to be clogged. Much thanks to my friend Rich H for giving me tips and tools to combat this clogged gauge problem, which I hope to address sometime soon.

Friday’s precipitation was 0.53″
May precipitation is now 3.88″
Year-to-date precipitation total is 15.62″

WX Bug Lakewood 4500 ft, 55° 100% 55° 30.19″S NE 4 G E 9
                            140° from station                       66°/53°

The Lakewood rain gauge reported 0.42″ of precipitation on Friday. May is now showing 5.18″ for the month with the 2018 year-to-date (YTD) amount now at 19.99″. I still believe at times the great disparity between the Lakewood WX Bug station precipitation amount total for the month and year and my cocorahs gauge based data is that the Lakewood precip values are estimated/adjusted from radar.

At 2400 obs Friday night the temperature from the VP2 was 54.3° RH 96% BP 30.22″S DP 53.2°
Cloudy, cool, damp at 2400 Friday

Good morning from the cloudy, damp, cool, occasionally light rainy home of the soggy walrus on this Saturday.