Capital Weather Gang: January 2, 2011 - January 8, 2011

Decent chance for at least some snow Tuesday

Not much has changed regarding the potential for snow on Tuesday. Chances remain fairly good that we'll see at least some accumulating snow in the D.C. area, while at the same time chances of a big-time storm remain fairly low.

By Dan Stillman and Jason Samenow  | January 8, 2011; 1:30 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (75)
Categories:  Latest, Snow Lover's Crystal Ball, Winter Storms  
Save & Share:                   

Snow ends, drops quick half inch or so

For those who were awake, the snow this morning put on quite a show. A narrow, but intense squall line raced through the metro region between about 7 and 10:00 a.m., dropping anywhere from 0.25-0.75".

By Jason Samenow  | January 8, 2011; 10:00 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (21)
Categories:  Latest, Updates, Winter Storms  
Save & Share:                   

Forecast: Snow ends. More Tuesday?

Morning snow showers have ended with accumulations ranging from a dusting to about 1". The rest of today is variably cloudy and cold, with temperatures in the low-to-mid 30s. If today's snow isn't enough, we're also tracking a threat for Tuesday.

CWG's Express & Detailed Forecast

By Ian Livingston  | January 8, 2011; 9:30 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (84)
Categories:  Forecasts  
Save & Share:                   

Winter weather advisory N and E of D.C.

Today ended up pretty cloudy and cold. If you're a snow lover who missed the Friday morning snow showers, fear not! Additional snow shower activity looks likely late night and into Saturday morning. We're not expecting a lot of snow, but some spots could pick up as much as about 1". Then, if you haven't heard, there's a potential bigger threat on Tuesday.

CWG's Detailed Forecast

By Ian Livingston  | January 7, 2011; 7:20 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (54)
Categories:  Forecasts  
Save & Share:                   

Tuesday snow risk increases

Chances for accumulating snow Tuesday are increasing (relative to yesterday). The models have converged toward a solution that would give the Washington area at least some snow. Therefore, our assessment for the probability of getting over an inch or snow is in the 40 to 50% range, a high number given that the storm is not expected until Tuesday.

By Wes Junker  | January 7, 2011; 1:30 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (50)
Categories:  Latest, Snow Lover's Crystal Ball, Winter Storms  
Save & Share:                   

Dusting to 1" possible Saturday morning

A small, but potent upper level disturbance will pivot through the metro region late tonight into tomorrow likely generating intermittent bands of snow.

By Jason Samenow  | January 7, 2011; 12:15 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (19)
Categories:  Latest, Winter Storms  
Save & Share:                   

Remembering the Blizzard of '96 in photos

To celebrate the 15 year anniversary of the Blizzard of '96, I have assembled a few photos to showcase the amazing storm. In comparison to Snowmageddon, the snow from the Blizzard of '96 was not quite as deep or dense in the immediate Washington area, but the drifting was much more extensive. The Blizzard of '96 had a prolonged dry slot during the middle of the storm while Snowmageddon had continuous snow.

By Kevin Ambrose  | January 7, 2011; 10:00 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (36)
Categories:  History, Latest, Photography  
Save & Share:                   

Forecast: Light snow likely late tonight

After a dusting or so in some spots this morning, another shot of light snow is likely late tonight into early tomorrow. This time even more spots could see a dusting if not up to around an inch. Tuesday could get interesting as we may be dealing with a potentially snowier system.

CWG's Express & Detailed Forecast

By Camden Walker  | January 7, 2011; 5:00 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (36)
Categories:  Forecasts  
Save & Share:                   

Cold Chesapeake Bay waters likely behind fish kill

Weather has mostly been ruled out as the cause of the massive bird kill in central Arkansas (now suspected to be fireworks), but chances are good it was behind the death of more than two million fish in the Chesapeake Bay this past week.

By Jason Samenow  | January 6, 2011; 6:00 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (23)
Categories:  Environment, Latest  
Save & Share:                   

PM Update: A few Friday morning flakes

For the fourth consecutive day, afternoon highs climbed into the low 40s, exactly average for this time of year. But it's downhill from here as cold air from the northwest streams southeastward. We probably won't escape the 30s tomorrow and for many days thereafter. As the cold air dives south, some light snow may fall along the way.

CWG's Detailed Forecast

By Jason Samenow  | January 6, 2011; 3:45 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (27)
Categories:  Forecasts  
Save & Share:                   

Tuesday snow threat: On the edge again?

Like the previous significant snow chances we've had this season, the one we're tracking for Tuesday may have us on the edge of our seats until the very end.

By Jason Samenow and Dan Stillman  | January 6, 2011; 1:45 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (21)
Categories:  Winter Storms  
Save & Share:                   

Amazing images of D.C.'s extreme 2010 weather

What a memorable year 2010 was for weather in Washington, D.C. Before the dust of 2010 settles, I thought I'd showcase a series of images that helps tell the story of 2010's incredible weather in Washington.

By Jason Samenow  | January 6, 2011; 10:30 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (15)
Categories:  Latest, Recaps, Snowmageddon  
Save & Share:                   

Forecast: Seasonable today, a few flakes tonight

We hang on to the 40s for one more day and then the Arctic muscles in for the weekend. A few snowflakes to mark the leading edge of the cold push Friday morning may not even accomplish a dusting. The problem is that this cold spell may be measured in weeks rather than days...

CWG's Express & Detailed Forecast

By David Streit  | January 6, 2011; 5:00 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (31)
Categories:  Forecasts  
Save & Share:                   

PM Update: Tranquil through tomorrow

It's still cold, but that's not very unusual for this time of year. In fact, Wednesday's highs were about normal. There's not much weather excitement in the coming 24 hours to think about, though by late Thursday we'll be watching for an area of light snow headed toward the region into the overnight.

CWG's Detailed Forecast

By Ian Livingston  | January 5, 2011; 3:30 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (53)
Categories:  Forecasts  
Save & Share:                   

Climate Lens: Politics, hype, and science

Do your politics impact your view of climate change science? Do gloom and doom predictions alter your opinions? Some recent articles in the LA Times and Nature explore these fascinating questions.

By Jason Samenow  | January 5, 2011; 2:45 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (42)
Categories:  Climate Change, Latest  
Save & Share:                   

Farmer's Almanac forecast vs. reality in December

Want to know why neither I, nor any meteorologist I know, assign any legitimacy to the Farmer's Almanac weather predictions? Whatever it predicted in December, the opposite occurred....

By Jason Samenow  | January 5, 2011; 12:35 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (11)
Categories:  Capital Weather Gang, Humor, Long-range outlooks  
Save & Share:                   

Washington D.C. weather in the year 2076

As the year, and the decade* have drawn to a close, many are looking back at the stand-out stories that have captured our attention. Instead, I've chosen to look ahead. But regardless of which side of the (political) fence you're on, take my little futuristic journey with a grain of salt. The various projections and assumptions are drawn from a variety of sources and are quite controversial, to say the least. Flash forward to December 2076, America's tercentennial (sometimes called tricentennial) year.

By Don Lipman  | January 5, 2011; 10:15 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (16)
Categories:  Climate Change, Latest, Lipman  
Save & Share:                   

Forecast: Cold to gradually tighten grip

We have a ways to go, but this winter is fast becoming our second rather chilly one in a row. Our January thaw was frustratingly brief, and it may be at least a week or two until our next chance at 50, with some days struggling to reach 40. Will there be any snow to show for our cold?

CWG's Express & Detailed Forecast

By Dan Stillman  | January 5, 2011; 5:00 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (27)
Categories:  Forecasts  
Save & Share:                   

International look-up available on Post Weather

On our new weather page launched last month, you can now get international forecasts for hundreds of city, country combinations around the world.

By Jason Samenow  | January 4, 2011; 6:15 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (25)
Categories:  Capital Weather Gang, Latest  
Save & Share:                   

PM Update: A dry winter chill

The weather is about as uneventful as it gets in early January. Skies are mostly clear, winds are light and high temperatures, in the low-to-mid 40s are just about average. That's the story through tomorrow as we await the chance of a little light snow to close out this otherwise pedestrian week weatherwise.

CWG's Detailed Forecast

By Jason Samenow  | January 4, 2011; 3:30 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (7)
Categories:  Forecasts  
Save & Share:                   

First half of January trending cold, any snow?

It's looking increasingly like that at least the first half of January temperatures will average below normal and the 8-14 day forecast suggests that precipitation will be normal to a little below normal. The models continue to hint that there could be a minor snow threat Friday from a clipper and maybe a more significant threat early next week.

By Wes Junker  | January 4, 2011; 1:30 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (27)
Categories:  Latest, Winter Storms  
Save & Share:                   

Coast to coast: Video of Dec. 26 beach blizzard

A satellite video of the coast-to-coast evolution of the December 26, 2010 Boxing Day Blizzard that produced more than a foot of snow in coastal areas from Virginia Beach to eastern Maine.

By Jason Samenow  | January 4, 2011; 12:45 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (3)
Categories:  Latest, Photography, Winter Storms  
Save & Share:                   

Record warmth in 2010, despite cooling influences

No matter how you crunch the data, 2010 is certain to go down in history as one of the warmest - if not the warmest - years since the beginning of instrumental records in the late 19th century. This is despite the recent cold and snowy weather in much of the U.S. and across Europe. All three widely cited surface temperature datasets show that 2010 will most likely rank near the very top of the list - a remarkable feat considering that two factors that tend to cause cooler-than-average conditions were present for all or part of the year - a La Nina event and a "quiet" sun.

By Andrew Freedman  | January 4, 2011; 10:00 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (17)
Categories:  Climate Change, Freedman, Latest, Local Climate, Science, Temperature Extremes  
Save & Share:                   

Forecast: Sligthtly warmer and dry today

Fairly quiet weather continues over the next few days as a modified Canadian air mass moves through. While seasonally cold, we should do the best we can to enjoy it as a chance of snow showers comes Friday followed by colder weather and annoying winds this weekend.

CWG's Express & Detailed Forecast

By Matt Rogers  | January 4, 2011; 5:00 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (22)
Categories:  Forecasts  
Save & Share:                   

Loud noise, not weather likely behind bird kill

As the investigation continues as to the cause of the sudden death of up to 5,000 blackbirds that rained from the central Arkansas skies, fingers are starting to point at the weather.

By Jason Samenow  | January 3, 2011; 9:30 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (50)
Categories:  Latest, U.S. Weather  
Save & Share:                   

PM Update: Briefly milder air tomorrow

Our first work day of 2011 brought plenty of sunshine but also the return of below average temperatures. We're looking at a short warm-up for Tuesday before seasonable, or slightly below normal, temperatures return for the rest of the week. No weather worries for now, though!

CWG's Detailed Forecast

By Ian Livingston  | January 3, 2011; 3:15 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (17)
Categories:  Forecasts  
Save & Share:                   

The first sunrise of 2011

While most of our New Year's Day was cloudy and damp, the photos in this post show that at least we had a clear, bright sunrise to kick off the New Year in Washington.

By Kevin Ambrose  | January 3, 2011; 1:45 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (3)
Categories:  Latest, Photography  
Save & Share:                   

Top weather story in 2010: Record snow or heat?

Clearly, the record snow and heat emerge as the top 2010 weather stories locally. Was the snow or the heat more remarkable, memorable, and impactful? Vote in a poll.

By Jason Samenow  | January 3, 2011; 12:30 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (12)
Categories:  Latest, Polls  
Save & Share:                   

D.C.'s wild weather ride in 2010

2010 was a year for the record books in Washington and the surrounding region. The year kicked off with big snow, then months of big heat, before a sometimes stormy fall and cold December.

By Ian Livingston  | January 3, 2011; 10:00 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (22)
Categories:  Latest, Local Climate, Recaps  
Save & Share:                   

Forecast: Seasonably cold first week of 2011

It's a New Year and a new month, but the cold, relatively dry pattern that characterized December persists. High temperatures through late in the work week are in the chilly 40s before an Arctic front drops us down into the 30s for the weekend. During the transition, we could see some snow and/or rain showers late Thursday into Friday.

CWG's Express & Detailed Forecast

By Jason Samenow  | January 3, 2011; 5:00 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (27)
Categories:  Forecasts  
Save & Share:                   

Forecast: Gray Sunday, then sunnier & cooler

While the gray skies and maybe a few showers not thrill you today, conditions improve as we head into the work week, as dry weather and cooler but seasonable temperatures make for a fairly pleasant start to the new year.

CWG's Express & Detailed Forecast

By Brian Jackson  | January 2, 2011; 5:00 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (35)
Categories:  Forecasts  
Save & Share: