Capital Weather Gang - DC area weather blog, news - October 10, 2010

Forecast: Winds wind down, sunshine supreme

We're on a bit of a hot streak with our third consecutive mostly nice weekend. The wind may be a bit strong today for everyone's taste but tomorrow it turns tranquil. Calm weather continues through Monday before the next cold front approaches and brings along some rain chances by late on Tuesday.

By Jason Samenow | October 16, 2010; 5:00 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Forecasts
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SkinsCast: Awesome autumn evening

* Our Full Forecast | Weather Wall | Redskins Insider * Redskins vs. ColtsSunday Oct. 17, 8:20 p.m., FedEx Field Kickoff2-Min WarningWeatherChance of Precip.Low 60sMid-50sClear0%Great football weather: clear, crisp fall air with temps falling into the 50s. SkinsCast appears before every Redskins home game. Also, if you haven't already,...

By Jason Samenow | October 16, 2010; 5:00 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: SkinsCast
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Coastal storm engulfs New England

The stunning image from space above is a textbook case of a mature mid-latitude coastal storm. A classic comma head surrounds the low pressure center positioned just east of Maine. Beneath the comma head, heavy rain and mountain snows (e.g. Stowe, Vermont, Mt. Washington, NH and Lake Placid, NY) impact the interior Northeast and New England.

By Jason Samenow | October 15, 2010; 7:30 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Photography, U.S. Weather
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PM Update: Wind the story through tomorrow

The transitional periods between warm and cold are often characterized by some days of one, some of the other. Today, however, really feels like fall. West winds, sustained around 15-20 mph with gusts to around 30 mph, have been mixed with variably sunny skies, a sprinkle or two, and temperatures in the low-to-mid 60s. Good light jacket weather, but not really cold or uncomfortable. We've got more great autumn weather on tap the next few days and eventually with less wind!

By Ian Livingston | October 15, 2010; 3:15 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Forecasts
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Local pumpkins survive summer heat, fall rains

Summer heat and dry weather affected pumpkin patches and other fall crops throughout the region this year, but the extent varied.

By Ann Posegate | October 15, 2010; 10:30 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Nature, Posegate
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Forecast: Cool and blustery, but increasing sun

The soaking rain is gone as yesterday's storm pounds parts of New England today. Here in the D.C. area, winds are the main story through tomorrow, with sunshine setting up shop for the weekend. By Sunday, the winds should calm down enough for us to enjoy typical autumn highs in the 60s to near 70. The next chance of any appreciable rain probably doesn't come until Tuesday, and even that's iffy for now.

By Camden Walker | October 15, 2010; 5:00 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (18)
Categories: Forecasts
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PM Update: Nor'easter moving out

Today's rain is heading out to the east and northeast, but not before dropping moderate totals across much of the area. Through 3 p.m., National Airport has received 1.26, Dulles 0.96 and Baltimore-Washington 0.82. Radar estimated totals seem to be fairly accurate, and show the general idea that those near and east of I-95 got more rain than those well west. Most of the rain is done, though there could be a few extra hundredths of an inch falling as a few more showers may pass through. Temperatures that reached highs mainly in the mid-to-upper 50s are pretty steady and will fall back again shortly.

By Ian Livingston | October 14, 2010; 3:15 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (10)
Categories: Forecasts
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Grading our 2010 summer outlook

It was, as most everyone surely knows, a historically hot summer replete with shattered records throughout. Suffice to say, we didn't forecast the hottest summer on record or a tie for the most 90-degree days in a year. But for a seasonal outlook, we did pretty darn well.

By Matt Ross | October 14, 2010; 1:15 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Local Climate, Recaps
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Hot times for climate change science rhetoric

Full of hot air, polarized rhetoric, and scandal - climate change science issues are boiling over - maybe even more than usual - on newspaper editorial pages and the blogosphere. Climate Lens is a guided aggregation of recent climate change science news and voices for those interested in the intersection of weather, climate, politics, and the environment. I encourage reader participation by posting interesting news and views you've encountered in the comment area below.

By Jason Samenow | October 14, 2010; 11:00 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (16)
Categories: Climate Change
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Forecast: Soaking wet with a bit of chill today

A storm takes shape right over the top of us today and its development will be pretty dynamic. Aside from a chilly rain in the metro region, strong thundershowers are likely to be set off to our east as a result. So if you are headed toward the Delmarva be on the look out. On the back side of this storm strong winds funnel into this "pint size" developing nor'easter. There is even a chance for a few wet snowflakes in the West Virginia highlands Friday morning. The storm quickly pulls away on Saturday, leaving us with a delightful weekend.

By David Streit | October 14, 2010; 9:15 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (18)
Categories: Forecasts
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PM Update: Nice now, stormy later

It's been a beautiful day around here with light winds and mostly sunny skies. Temperatures are topping out in the mid-and-upper 60s this afternoon, which is basically average for the date across the region. We'll stay mostly clear into the evening, but clouds are on their way and rain won't be too far behind.

By Ian Livingston | October 13, 2010; 3:15 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (11)
Categories: Forecasts
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Coastal storm to slam New England

As low pressure quickly develops over the mid-Atlantic Thursday (tomorrow), ready yourself for a six to 10 hour period of steady rain late from the pre-dawn hours through mid-afternoon in the D.C. metro region. Around an inch of rain is possible. The storm will have not matured sufficiently to produce high winds here in Washington when the rain falls tomorrow. But some backlash wind gusts of up to 30 mph are possible Friday in the wake of the storm. The impacts in Washington, D.C. will be mild compared to what southern New England faces tomorrow night into Friday as this fast-moving storm deepens into a tried-and-true 'Noreaster.

By Jason Samenow | October 13, 2010; 1:40 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: High Winds, U.S. Weather
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Interview with tornado chaser Reed Timmer

Discovery Channel's docu-drama Storm Chasers kicks off its fourth season tonight at 10 p.m. ET. The Capital Weather Gang and readers submitted questions to "extreme chaser" and program star Reed Timmer. Timmer responds...

By Jason Samenow | October 13, 2010; 10:30 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: Capital Weather Gang, Features, Thunderstorms
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Forecast: Thursday rain, otherwise cooler but nice

Rain tomorrow, and wind Friday into Saturday. That sums up the disruptive portion of the forecast for the next several days. Otherwise, we'll see plenty of sun and cooler temperatures than we've seen the past week or so, though fairly typical for mid-October. Let's get to the nitty-gritty details...

By Dan Stillman | October 13, 2010; 5:00 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Forecasts
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Hurricane Paula winding up in the Caribbean

Hurricane Paula, located about 105 miles southeast of Cozumel Mexico, is the 16th named tropical cyclone of the year. Paula is a low-end Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale with maximum sustained winds near 100 mph. The system is moving toward the northwest at about 10 mph. Hurricane warnings have been posted for much of the Yucatan peninsula including Cancun, Cozumel and points southward.

By Greg Postel | October 12, 2010; 5:00 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Tropical Weather
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PM Update: After more warmth, cooler days ahead

We've been given another very warm day for this time of year, but change is in the air thanks to a cold front moving through. Highs today near 80 and into the lower 80s are still well above average even if a step down from yesterday. We take another big step tomorrow under mostly sunny skies, before rain chances look to return for Thursday.

By Ian Livingston | October 12, 2010; 3:15 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Forecasts
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It's Old Farmer's Almanac time

Having an early boyhood fascination with the weather, I looked forward each fall in New Jersey to the various almanac predictions for the upcoming winter. Although I didn't put much stock in their long-range forecasts (nor do I now), nevertheless, as a snow-lover, it was always promising when the outlook was for a severe winter. And when someone said, as they always did and still do at this time of year, "I heard the almanac is predicting a lot of snow this winter," I would always say, "Which almanac?" Then, as now, almanac forecasts varied greatly. Although a number of almanacs exist, many of which have a decent following, the granddaddy of them all is The Old Farmer's Almanac. Published since 1792, it is possibly the oldest continuous publication in America. In our area, The Hagerstown Almanac is another favorite, claiming to be almost as old as the Old Farmer's Almanac

By Don Lipman | October 12, 2010; 11:30 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (10)
Categories: Features, History, Lipman
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"Hail" mageddon in Brooklyn, New York

The New York City region, blasted by two tornadoes last month and one in June, was raked by a cluster of severe thunderstorms last night. The storms, whose lightning delayed the Packers-Jets game, produced accumulating hail of nearly an inch in parts of Brooklyn.

By Jason Samenow | October 12, 2010; 10:45 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Thunderstorms
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Forecast: Summery today, fall-like tomorrow

The balance of this week is a perfect example of transition season volatility. Our soaring temperature story comes to a close today, but not before we reach up to the lower 80s in most areas once again. A cold front turns the winds this afternoon and sets the stage for a cooler (actually, more seasonal) midweek before a vigorous storm system arrives on Thursday and Friday with chilly conditions. The good news is that the weekend is poised to be a significant improvement - an all-around nice autumn weather situation.

By Matt Rogers | October 12, 2010; 5:00 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Forecasts
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Golf ball marks from heaven and hail

No, those indentations in that poor putting green (shown above) aren't due to countless inconsiderate golfers (though I've played on some greens resembling that). Those marks come courtesy an aerial assault from the heavens. The National Weather Service in Wichita, KS reports a thunderstorm produced a massive hailstorm in the vicinity of that golf course on September 15. In some areas, the hail stones were larger than softballs. The biggest stone had a circumference of 15.7 inches (39.9 cm), weighed 1.1 pounds (0.5 kg) and had a diameter of 7.75 inches (19.7 cm), a new state record for Kansas.

By Jason Samenow | October 11, 2010; 10:00 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Photography, Thunderstorms
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PM Update: Record heat strikes, storms next?

Today was another record setter as Dulles Airport crushed its 2001 record by eight degrees, soaring to 86. Reagan National got close to the 1919 record of 90, but fell two degrees short. The high at BWI was 85. Will we mark down October 11 as the last day of 2010 with upper 80s? Unless we do it tomorrow, I'm guessing yes. A sharp cooling trend commences Wednesday and it's going to be very difficult to get back into the upper 80s next week or thereafter.

By Jason Samenow | October 11, 2010; 10:00 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (13)
Categories: Forecasts
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Record watch: Dulles crushes old record

In what is almost certainly summer's last hurrah, temperatures today head for the mid-to-upper 80s. The mercury should easily sail past Dulles Airport's record high of 78 from 2001. Reagan National's record of 90 from 1919, the latest its ever hit 90, probably won't be matched or exceeded. Likewise, BWI's record of 89 from 1954 is a reach.

By Jason Samenow | October 11, 2010; 2:00 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (14)
Categories: Local Climate
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Forecast: Warm Columbus Day before cooling

Turn the clock back a week and it was dismally wet and cold. We just missed matching the record (56 in 1988) for the coldest October 4 on record at Reagan National (the high was 57). Today, it's about 30 degrees warmer and while the record of 90 should be safe, temps are going to take a ride well into the 80s. Tomorrow, though, a cooling trend begins and by Friday, temperatures turn cooler than normal and it may get wet.

By Jason Samenow | October 11, 2010; 7:30 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (9)
Categories: Forecasts
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Forecast: Skies so blue, but not forever

When Mother Nature hasn't been dumping rain on us, she's given us some pretty fantastic days to enjoy. We're catching her good side yet again today with another picture-perfect fall day to go out and enjoy. We should be able to hold on to the niceness through most of this long weekend, before a pesky frontal wave begins to move in and create some rain chances for us late Monday and into Tuesday.

By Brian Jackson | October 10, 2010; 7:30 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Forecasts
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SkinsCast: Superior Sunday sunshine

* Our Full Forecast | Weather Wall | Redskins Insider * updated Sunday at 7:30 a.m., originally posted at 8:30 a.m. Saturday Redskins vs. PackersSunday Oct. 10, 1:00 p.m., FedEx Field Kickoff2-Min WarningWeatherChance of Precip.Mid-70sUpper 70sMostly sunny10-20%High pressure means beautiful sunshine as the Skins battle with Green Bay. A perfect,...

By Jason Samenow | October 10, 2010; 7:30 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: SkinsCast
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Capital Weather Gang: October 10, 2010 - October 16, 2010