The sun is out and skies are blue Tuesday, and that must mean the nor'easter that wetted the region this weekend has passed.
The storm's precipitation was much-needed, though it didn't solve all of the state's drought problems in one fell swoop.
The official count at BWI Marshall Airport was 1.4 inches from Saturday afternoon through Monday. That cut down the deficit from normal rain levels to about 4 inches, with 8.34 inches so far this year and 12.41 inches in a normal year.
According to amateur spotters reporting to CoCoRaHS, a precipitation-counting organization, the Eastern Shore -- which needed the rain the most -- saw the highest rainfall totals. Parts of Talbot County got 2 inches, while Central Maryland counties received about 1.5 inches at most.
The Eastern Shore is under a drought watch as of March 31, according to the Maryland Department Environment. The storm came at the perfect time for farmers waiting for the soil moisture needed for corn and other crops to take to the Earth and germinate, according to farmers quoted in a front-page news story last week.
As for snow the nor'easter brought Western Maryland yesterday on the tail end of the storm, it was significant, according to tallies reported to the National Weather Service. As much as 5 inches were reported near Deep Creek Lake in Garrett County and 6 inches near Frostburg.
Want to see the whole weekend storm pass by in 19 seconds? Check out an animation of the satellite view NOAA posted -- you can see why they call it a nor'easter.
