Inches

Marylanders may cringe at news of yet another snowstorm next week. But the Alberta Clipper due here Monday might hardly warrant a shrug after what we've been through in the past week. "We do think it will be all snow," said Stephen Konarik, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service forecast office in Sterling, Va. "It does look potent enough to cause some accumulation, but it doesn't look like a lot. Several inches are not out of the question." "Several inches" is what fell in an hour during parts of the back-to-back storms that have unloaded 44 inches at the airport in the past week.

1:51 p.m.:  The National Weather Service has now canceled the winter weather advisory about four hours early. Light snow and flurries are possible, but no additional accumulation is expected, according to the advisory. Drivers should still take caution on bridges and overpasses, which could remain slushy, the advisory cautions. The latest snowfall totals reported to the weather service include 5 inches near Pimlico, in Catonsville and near Westminster. Spotters reported 5.4 inches near Columbia and 5.2 inches near Garrison.

A cold air pocket collided last night with moisture left from Thursday's snow storm, causing more snow to begin falling in northwestern Maryland shortly after 11 p.m.One to 2 inches of snow were expected to accumulate across Central Maryland by dawn, according to Calvin Meadows, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Sterling, Va.The snow began falling in southwest Virginia about 8 p.m. and moved into Maryland, he said.Meadows predicted that Garrett and Allegany counties would be the hardest-hit areas in the state, with up to 3 inches of snow.

The blanket of as much as 5 inches of wet, slushy snow that fell across the Baltimore area Monday was the heaviest snowfall of an underwhelming season and the latest measurable springtime snow in a decade. The snow caused a few distruptions for morning commuters and minor power outages. It gave a snow day to some schoolchildren eager for sledding and snowball fights after a winter of multiple disappointments. "I've got to do something, or I'll have a mutiny," said Clark Lare, chuckling, as he bought bacon and eggs to feed his son, Jack, and daughter, Sasha, at Whole Foods in Mount Washington.

The winter that just won't quit dropped about 4 inches of snow on metropolitan Baltimore yesterday morning, took one life and unleashed an Arctic cold front that may produce record-breaking low temperatures this weekend.Yesterday's snowfall, the result of a fast-moving storm that moved up the East Coast as frigid air pushed in from the northwest, was limited to the Washington-Baltimore corridor, National Weather Service forecasters in Sterling, Va., said.Snowfall ranged from 4.1 inches at Baltimore-Washington International Airport to 2 inches at Riviera Beach in Anne Arundel County and an inch in Frederick.

There will be no rest for the snow-weary in Maryland as a storm with the potential to drop 10 to 20 inches of new snow bears down on a region still reeling from the 24 inches and more that fell over the weekend. The National Weather Service issued Winter Storm Warnings on Monday for all of Maryland west of the Chesapeake Bay, calling for light snow to begin mid- to late afternoon today. Forecasters said it should intensify early Wednesday morning as colder air moves into the region, and continue throughout the day. If this storm tops 20 inches at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, it would be the third such pummeling this season, a trifecta unprecedented in Maryland weather history.

Winter's first major storm churned through the Baltimore region yesterday, and the 6 to 8 inches of powdery snow it dropped are expected to blow and drift today. Steady winds will whip at 25 to 30 mph throughout much of the day, and gusts will hit 45 mph, according to the National Weather Service. "It's going to be very windy and cold," said David Manning, warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Sterling, Va. Wind chill will make it feel like it's close to zero early today, he said.

Look out your window.If there is snow, the weather forecasters were right. If not, well.A large storm was expected to move northeast from Alabama last night and dump as much as 6 inches of snow in the Baltimore area beginning in the early morning. A foot of snow was predicted to hit Western Maryland, and about 2 inches were expected in southern parts of the state.State and city highway crews are on standby, ready to plow and salt the streets when -- and if -- the snow hits."We'll bring in some folks early, and then we will bring in more people" if the weather worsens, said Valerie Burnette Edgar, a spokeswoman for the State Highway Administration.

Six inches of new snow yesterday ended a paralyzing stretch of winter weather that buried a 74-year-old local record for January snowfall and generated far more snow in six days than the average winter season in Baltimore.Mercifully, warmer temperatures and sunshine this weekend and Monday should start the long melt.Yesterday's wet, slippery snowfall made once-passable roadways treacherous, set back the clock for neighborhoods still trapped by Sunday's snow and collapsed at least three roofs in Carroll County.

Skiers and sledders frolicked in several feet of snow this weekend as Maryland's two westernmost counties dug out of their heaviest snowfall in recent memory.By yesterday evening, most of Garrett and Allegany counties' primary and secondary roads were clear, snow emergencies had been lifted, and power had been restored to more than 100,000 customers from a storm that began before sunrise Thursday and ended early yesterday.In an area that yawns at snow forecasts and measures accumulation in feet rather than inches, most interviewed yesterday said that this was the biggest snowfall they could remember in 10 years or more, although official figures weren't available yesterday from the National Weather Service.

A late-season storm was forecast to bring the first significant snowfall in Baltimore in two years Wednesday, prompting worries about travel difficulties and power outages from the wet, heavy flakes and strong wind. The National Weather Service forecasts snowfall of 6 to 12 inches north and west of Interstate 95, though a rain mix along the I-95 corridor could reduce accumulations. The storm, which dumped nearly a foot of snow on the northern Plains states, could bring intense bands of heavier precipitation in some areas, forecasters warned.

A winter storm watch is in effect for all of Maryland west of the Chesapeake Bay, cautioning of chances for 5 inches or more of snow overnight Tuesday through Wednesday. But uncertainty remains, preventing forecasters from making precise snowfall estimates. The storm is expected to move across the Midwest today before heading toward the Appalachians and central Virginia on Tuesday. In the Baltimore region, while the precipitation is expected to start as rain in some areas Tuesday night, it is expected to change over to snow most everywhere on the north side of the Interstate 95 corridor, according to the National Weather Service Baltimore/Washington forecast office.

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Zach Clark's professional baseball career has had its share of bumps and turns, just like those long bus trips through the minor leagues as he clutched the dream of one day breaking into the big leagues. "A lot of ups and downs," Clark, a UMBC product, said with smile Thursday. "More than you'd really think. It's been a journey. " After seven years toiling in the minors, the 29-year-old right-hander finally has the feeling that reaching the majors in within grasp.

The National Weather Service is forecasting that a system dumping as much as 2 feet of snow and significant ice accumulation across the Plains states will bring an inch or less of snow to Maryland on Friday, along with a mix of sleet, freezing rain and rain. Thursday morning, 4 inches of snow fell within 90 minutes in North Kansas City, 2 inches within half an hour in Kansas City, and snowfall totals of 5-6 inches and rising were recorded, according to reports made to the weather service in Kansas City.

Reservoir junior Zelor Massaquoi admits to being only 5 feet 5 1/2 inches tall, but she can outmaneuver much taller opponents and leads the Howard County girls basketball league in rebounding. Her tenacity emerges all over the court as she averages 12.6 points, 10.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.9 steals for the No. 13 Gators (16-3), who open the Class 3A East regional playoffs Monday night at home. Massaquoi, who plays Amateur Athletic Union basketball with the Columbia Ravens, wants to play the sport in college.

See updated story here. Forecasters are predicting another round of unusually light and fluffy snow Friday, potentially a few inches of it across the region this time, though some began to second-guess the forecast Thursday afternoon. Unlike Thursday morning's snow, the moisture for Friday's system will be coming from the south, something that generally means more snow for the Baltimore area. The snowfall could be on par with Thursday's morning's accumulation, though the system could intensify dropping heavier snowfall in isolated spots, according to the National Weather Service.

Baseball, famously, is a game of numbers: 56, 715 and 2,131 all have staked out their places in the lore. Then there are the eternals: the 90 feet between bases and the 60 feet, 6 inches between the pitching rubber and home plate. A number less often discussed is 10 - since 1969, the regulation height, in inches, of every pitcher's mound in the major leagues. On the game's current landscape, few figures are the subject of more debate. After the 1968 season, when pitchers such as Bob Gibson and Denny McLain ruled the big leagues, baseball lowered the mound by a third, and hitting made an instant comeback.

Bright sunshine, with temperatures rising into the 30s, yesterday helped to burn off some of the nearly 10 inches of fluffy snow that buried the area Friday and set a seasonal snowfall record of 54.9 inches at Baltimore-Washington International Airport.More sunshine is expected today with temperatures in the low to mid-30s.State Highway Administration road crews worked on shifts overnight, mostly in southern Maryland and the Eastern Shore, and in the Annapolis-Arnold area, an SHA spokesman said.

Winter lovers enjoyed a light snowfall in the Baltimore region Saturday without many of the usual headaches, as the snow passed after several hours with few traffic concerns. But State Highway Administration officials urged motorists to continue to be cautious of roads freezing over. Early in the new year, forecasters expect some rain with a slim chance of more wintry precipitation. Also, a significant chill could be on the way, bringing a chance for the first full day of sub-freezing temperatures in nearly a year in Baltimore.