Spring is Here, But Snow Hope Springs Eternal
By Steve Tracton
Robins cruising around the yard. Crocuses emerging from the ground. Winter clothing clearance sales. Outdoor sidewalk dining. Snowbirds returning from Florida. Blaring sound and spewing fumes of lawn mowers. Pollen allergy sneezing and wheezing. Cherry blossoms and tourist invasion. Spring break and spring cleaning. March Madness.
Yes, it's finally spring, whether meteorological or astronomical. But, is it really time to throw in the towel and give up totally on winter weather? Not necessarily.
Variations in early spring weather are relatively common in the D.C. area and can be quite extreme. It's literally as if the atmosphere can't make up its mind between winter or spring. Eventually, real spring will win out as summer approaches. In the meantime, conditions can vary back and forth from very cold and even snowy to uncomfortably hot and humid.
On March 28, 1921, the temperature in Washington reached 82° at noon, but fell to 26° by the early morning of the 29th -- a drop of 56° in less than 24 hours. In the last 10 days of March, 1907, daytime temperatures were in the 80s and low 90s. But this proved to be a sucker punch thrown by the atmosphere to get the populace to put their mittens, heavy coats and mukluks into storage. The region was then hit with a right hook in the form of a massive arctic outbreak that brought the minimum temperature on April 2 to 23° and an average temperature 44° the first three weeks of April.
For diehard snow lovers, hope springs (pun intended) eternal. After all, the "Palm Sunday Snowstorm" of March 29-30, 1942, deposited 12 inches in Washington, while 22 inches buried Baltimore. And the "April Fools Day Storm" on April 1, 1924 -- the latest in the season that the region has received 4 or more inches of snow -- produced 5 inches in Washington and 9 inches in Baltimore. The latest measurable snow on record in these parts occurred on April 28, 1889, with .5 inches recorded. Officially, the latest snow on record was a trace on May 10, 1906; but, even though I'm accused often of suffering from "senioritis" and/or daydreaming, I distinctly recall seeing snow flurries on June 1 sometime in the late 70s.
Yeah, I realize all these occurrences were BGW (Before Global Warming), or for the global warming skeptics perhaps they are just remnants of the "Little Ice Age" of the mid 1600s. So, being a realist, I give up for this year and look towards next winter. At least for the next eight months I can travel south to visit my father in Florida without having to worry about missing the next "Big One" in D.C.
The author is the current chair of the D.C. chapter of the American Meteorological Society.
By Capital Weather Gang |
March 22, 2008; 11:30 AM ET
Local Climate
,
Tracton
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Posted by: havoc | March 22, 2008 11:43 AM
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We've had a few sleet showers today with a few snowflakes mixing in here in the Blue Ridge Mtns of Northern VA today. Current temp: 47.5F
Posted by: S.P. Gass | March 22, 2008 2:25 PM
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Down to 35 after a sleet/snow shower, few stray flurries left over still....
Posted by: Mike from the Blue Ridge | March 22, 2008 3:22 PM
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Amazing on the golf course today -- clumps of snowflakes coming down a little before noon today. Never seen anything like it, especially with temps above 40.
Posted by: Jamie Y (Potomac) | March 22, 2008 3:52 PM
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Sleet mixed with rain here in Arnold, temp at 42F...
Posted by: arnoldkh | March 22, 2008 4:25 PM
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Could that have been graupel today, aka snow pellets? Didn't seem like sleet here in Silver Spring.
Posted by: Scotty | March 22, 2008 4:57 PM
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Eastern Panhandle had snow this morning, if you want to stretch the term. It looked kind of like the Baghdad snow in WashPost photos a few weeks back. You had to squint and peer at it to see--yup, it's snow. Sort of.
Posted by: tinkerbelle | March 22, 2008 5:38 PM
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I guess Mondays storm hype once again turned out to bust. Euro still shows light precip spreading into our area from coastal. Any chances this system could still suprise us?
Posted by: Anonymous | March 22, 2008 5:49 PM
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This winter has been a huge bust for the snowfolks.At least 11 times, a snowstorm has looked good days out and never panned out. What are the odds on that. We cant even go 1 for 11. I've lost a lot of snow faith in this area. We cant get one snowstorm and everyone else gets something. Caribou gets 15 feet and we cant get a measly 4 inches.
Oh well, what can we do. Winter is over now. My last hopes rested in Monday's system which has faltered. DAMN those models
Posted by: Anonymous | March 22, 2008 6:28 PM
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Strange event in Brunswick (Frederick County) today. Even though the sun was out there was a five minute burst of heavy sleet mixed with snow. Just enough to briefly cover parking lots and car tops but it melted as soon as it ended.
Posted by: JT | March 22, 2008 8:59 PM
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Sleet with snow @42 degrees in Rockville.