Forecasters

Even as winter-weary Marylanders continued to dig out from under the weekend's blizzard, weather forecasters warned that another storm is bearing down on them Tuesday and Wednesday with at least 5 more inches of snow. "We're not looking, certainly, at anything as significant as what we just had. But we are looking at the potential for winter-storm-watch-criteria snowfall," said National Weather Service meteorologist Bryan Jackson. Those criteria start at 5 inches, and that's as far as the weather service could go on Sunday.

Hot weather in the Baltimore area should drive many to Ocean City this weekend, where cooler weather and sunshine should greet them. The National Weather Service is forecasting highs in the upper 70s with partly cloudy skies and virtually no chance of rain through the Memorial Day weekend. It may not sound too hot, but with a bright sun and high humidity, it should make for nice early-season beach days. The ocean water temperature is running about 66 degrees. Waves are about 2-3 feet high, and the risk of rip currents is low, according to the weather service's surf forecast . Ocean City businesses and tourism officials are expecting the nice weather to drive in tourists for a strong start to the summer.

As if we needed more snow this winter, the National Weather Service has warned that yet another coastal storm could drop winter precipitation on northern and eastern sections of Maryland on Thursday. Winter storm watches calling for 5 inches of snow or more were posted Tuesday from Frederick County eastward and from Calvert County north, plus the Maryland Eastern Shore and all of Delaware. "There is still a high level of uncertainty, some model disagreement, but there is the potential for 7 or more inches of snow" in 24 hours, said Jared Klein, a forecaster at the National Weather Service forecast office in Sterling, Va. "The farther north and east you go, the better likelihood there is. There will be a real sharp gradient [in snow totals]

The National Weather Service is calling for Thursday to be mostly cloudy in the Baltimore area, with scattered showers, a high near 81 and southeast winds between 5 and 13 miles per hour. The chance of precipitation is 60 percent. Thursday night is expected to be mostly cloudy, with a low around 68 and south winds between 8 and 10 miles per hour. The chance of precipitation is 40 percent. Friday is expected to be partly sunny, with a high near 86 and south winds between 5 and 9 miles per hour.

Meteorologists are tracking a storm that could reach Maryland by Friday afternoon and leave behind as much as a foot of snow by the time it ends on Saturday. "This one certainly has some credentials," said Steve Zubrick, science and operations officer at the National Weather Service forecast office in Sterling, Va. "It's probably the best-looking chance for measurable snow we've had since December." Zubrick was cautious. "We would be looking at a potential for more than 4 inches in some parts of the Mid-Atlantic region," he said.

If you liked last winter in Central Maryland - pretty cold, but with below-average snow - you may get a chance to live it over again this winter. Forecasters at AccuWeather.com say the country is in for a second La Nina winter in a row, with brutal cold and snow across the northern tier of states. For Central Maryland, the annual pre-season forecast calls for no worse than near- to "slightly below-average" snowfall, but with some risk of a few "significant" snow or ice events.

The federal government's hurricane forecasters urged Americans living in vulnerable coastal regions to prepare for another "above-normal" Atlantic hurricane season. But they acknowledged that scientists still can't predict before the season begins where the storms are most likely to strike. "We are actively working on trying to address the question … about predicting landfalls. It's something we think, with additional research, that we can work on," said NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco.

The National Weather Service is calling for Tuesday to be rainy in the Baltimore area, with a high near 78 and south winds around 8 miles per hour. The weather service is calling for showers and possibly a thunderstorm before 11 a.m., then scattered showers between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., then scattered showers and thunderstorms after 2 p.m. Forecasters warn that a few storms could become strong to severe and will be capable of damaging wind gusts. The chance of precipitation is 100 percent.

As of 11:30 p.m. Sunday, the National Weather Service was calling for the remainder of the evening to be mostly cloudy, with a low around 33 and north winds around 13 miles per hour. Forecasters did not expect the Baltimore metro area to see the winter storm that was affecting Southern states, though the Associated Press reported on a serious accident on Interstate 95 in Prince George's County related to the storm. Monday was expected to be sunny, with a high near 47 and north winds between 9 and 13 miles per hour.

The Blizzard of '93 slathered the Atlantic coast in 10 to 50 inches of snow, scattered record lows from Florida to upstate New York, fanned winds up to 110 mph, poured a quick-freezing mix of snow and hail on Baltimore, blocked interstate highways, sank ships and caused at least 193 deaths.It was a monster, a killer, a once-in-a-century snowstorm. But it did a lot less damage than it might have because people had plenty of time to get out of its way.What made that early warning possible, said Robert Derouin, deputy chief of meteorological operations at the National Weather Service's National Meteorological Center, is bigger computers, more raw data and a better understanding of how to put the two together to accurately mimic the daily clash of forces in the atmosphere.

Forecasters are expecting the fewest Atlantic hurricanes and tropical storms since 2009, particularly if the weather phenomenon El Niño develops by the heart of the hurricane season. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting nine to 15 named storms, down from 19 named storms during each of the past two hurricane seasons. That is consistent with recent predictions from other hurricane forecasters, calling for about 10 to 12 named storms. Despite an early start to the hurricane seasons in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, there is no indication of a third consecutive active hurricane season, meteorologists said.

The National Weather Service is calling for Wednesday to be cloudy in the Baltimore area, with patchy fog in the morning, a high near 80 and southeast winds between 5 and 8 miles per hour. There is a 70 percent chance of precipitation. The weather service warns that locally heavy rainfall may lead to flash flooding in isolated areas Wednesday afternoon and evening. Wednesday night is expected to be mostly cloudy, with a low around 66 and south winds at 7 miles per hour becoming easterly.

The National Weather Service is calling for showers in the Baltimore area Monday, with thunderstorms possible in the afternoon, and a high temperature near 75 degrees. East winds between 6 and 8 miles per hour are expected. The chance of rainfall is 90 percent, and new rainfall amounts between a tenth and a quarter of an inch are forecast, with higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Showers are likely Monday night, with the possibility of thunderstorms before 2 a.m. It is expected to be mostly cloudy, with a low temperature around 65 degrees and east winds around 7 miles per hour.

The National Weather Service is calling for Friday to be sunny in the Baltimore area, with a high near 76 and east winds between 8 and 13 miles per hour. Friday night is expected to be clear, with a low around 55 and east winds between 8 and 10 miles per hour. Saturday is expected to be sunny, with a high near 80 and northeast winds between 7 and 11 miles per hour. Saturday night is expected to be mostly clear, with a low around 62 and light east winds.

A majority of the nation's forecasters are insisting that the current recession will end by August, basing their optimism on the behavior of past recessions. By their own acknowledgment, however, the forecasters are playing down the special troubling features of this recession that could prove them wrong.The big rise in stock prices in recent weeks has reinforced the forecasters' view that this recession, the ninth since World War II, will be among the shortest, lasting less than a year.Blue Chip Economic Indicators, which polls 50 prominent forecasters each month, shows that their consensus prediction in February is for healthy economic growth beginning in the third quarter -- assuming the Persian Gulf war ends by April 1."

A majority of the nation's forecasters are insisting that the current recession will end by August, basing their optimism on past recessions. But by their own acknowledgment, the forecasters are playing down the features of this recession that could prove them wrong.The big rise in stock prices in recent weeks has reinforced the forecasters' view that this recession, the ninth since World War II, will be among the shortest, lasting less than a year.Blue Chip Economic Indicators, which polls 50 prominent forecasters each month, says that their consensus prediction in February was for healthy economic growth beginning in the third quarter, assuming that the Persian Gulf war ends by April 1."