Precipitation

The National Weather Service in Sterling has released more rain and snow totals based on observations from highway departments and volunteer observers. Some highlights: Snow 6 inches of snow was measured 11 a.m. Tuesday in Frostburg. Rain 9.5 inches in Churchton, Anne Arundel 8.4 inches in Dundalk, Baltimore County 7.8 inches near Rosedale, Baltimore County 6.08 inches in Bowley's Quarters, Baltimore County 7.52 inches near Pimlico in the city 6.9 inches near Columbia 9.3 inches near Greenbelt in Prince George's Wind  69 mph in Annapolis 68 mph in Dundalk 59 mph near the Inner Harbor See the full list here.

The time has come for the NCAA to return the championship weekend to smaller stadiums and venues. Seventh-seeded Duke's 16-10 rout of top-seeded Syracuse in Monday's tournament final at Lincoln Financial Field was marred by an announced attendance of 28,224 - the smallest crowd to watch a title game since championship weekend was moved to professional football stadiums for the 2003 campaign and since 2002. The weekend attendance of 79,179 (28,224 for the Division I final, 22,511 for the Division II and III finals on Sunday and 28,444 for the Division I semifinals on Saturday)

Thursday's rain showers, plus more expected Saturday, could bring lacking April showers closer to par for the month. About a quarter of an inch of rain fell at BWI Marshall Airport on Thursday morning. More fell downtown, with 0.33 inches measured at the Maryland Science Center. Another band of showers is expected Thursday afternoon, some of which could include thunderstorms. That could bring at least another quarter of an inch, according to the National Weather Service. While a more than 4-inch rainfall deficit remains in the Baltimore area, even after a rainy weekend, the deficit for April is about an inch.

A recently published study led by U.S. government climate researchers predicts warming global temperatures will mean more moisture in the air, and thus heavier precipitation extremes. The research, reported in the peer-reviewed academic journal Geophysical Research Letters, called the conclusions " the most scientifically sound projection. " "Climate model simulations indicate a substantial future increase in mean and maximum water vapor concentrations," they wrote in the abstract of the study . For the northern hemisphere, that could mean a 20-30 percent increase in a statistic known as "maximum possible precipitation" over the next century under current greenhouse gas emissions growth rates.

Sleet fell in the Baltimore metropolitan area yesterday, arriving in the afternoon on blasts of cold air pouring into the Chesapeake region from the north and northwest. The precipitation was expected to end this afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.Jim Wiesmueller, a weather service forecaster in Sterling, Va., said moisture from the southwestern part of the country mixed with the cold air to create "ice pellets," or sleet.Temperatures were just below 40 degrees at rush hour last night, Wiesmueller said.

The National Weather Service is calling for Tuesday to be sunny, with a high near 52 and northwest winds between 7 and 11 miles per hour. Tuesday night is expected to be mostly cloudy, with a low around 34 and north winds around 7 miles per hour. Wednesday is expected to be snowy, mainly after 1 p.m., with a high of 38 and northeast winds around 5 miles per hour or less. The chance of precipitation is 80 percent. New snow accumulation of less than one inch is possible. Wednesday night is expected to be snowy, mainly before 7 p.m., with a low around 35 and winds becoming westerly around 6 miles per hour.

Light snow was expected to begin falling by 8 a.m. today around the Baltimore metropolitan area, changing to a mixture of sleet and freezing rain by midmorning and making for hazardous travel conditions throughout the region during the evening commute. The National Weather Service has issued a 24-hour winter weather advisory beginning today at 7 a.m. for the city and Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Harford and Howard counties and an ice storm warning for northern Baltimore, Carroll and Frederick counties.

A combination of snow and rain that produced record-setting March precipitation has left athletic fields in unplayable condition and forced the postponement of 38 varsity outdoor high school sports events through yesterday.Opening day for most sports was scheduled for last Monday, and officials are not certain whether any games will be played today.The previous March record for precipitation at Baltimore-Washington International Airport was 6.8 inches. As of yesterday, March precipitation was 7.47 inches.

It might not have lived up to its wintry billing, but Maryland's bout with snow, ice, drizzle and fog yesterday was enough to close schools, gouge highway maintenance budgets and send some motorists skidding into each other. "It turned out to be less troublesome" than predicted, said David Fidler, a spokesman for the Baltimore County Bureau of Highways. But "it's going to be an expensive one." Baltimore City said yesterday that it had spent $300,000 treating the streets and cleaning up after the storm.

Baltimore still has a slight chance of snow before 3 a.m. Friday, according to the National Weather Service. The skies will shift from cloudy to partly cloudy overnight. The low is expected around 29 degrees with west winds between 7 and 9 mph. The chance of precipitation is 20 percent. A small-craft advisory is in effect Thursday evening for the Maryland Chesapeake Bay and the lower tidal Potomac River. Friday is expected to be mostly sunny, with a high near 38 and north winds between 3 and 10 miles per hour.

It's been colder than is normal for this time of year in Maryland, but things are eventually going to warm up. As spring, which officially began Wednesday, gets further underway, Maryland will see a change from cooler-than-normal temperatures to warmer-than-normal temperatures, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's national spring outlook report. Most of the continental United States, apart from the Pacific Northwest and Northern Great Plains, will experience warmer-than-usual temperatures in next three months, according to the report released Thursday.

The National Weather Service is forecasting a wintry mix for early Monday, but little accumulation is expected in the Baltimore area. According to the service's projection as of Sunday night, there's a slight chance of rain and snow in the Baltimore area, but little or no accumulation overnight, with lows in the lower 30s. Then, on Monday morning, there will be snow in the morning, followed by rain, and then sleet and snow in the afternoon with...

The average temperature across the country was almost 2 degrees above normal this meteorological winter, ranking as 20th-mildest in the past 118 years, according to climatologists. In Maryland, the winter was even more of an aberration, ranking 15th-mildest. For December through February, all states east of the Rocky Mountains saw above-normal temperatures, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's State of the Climate report . The average temperature for the nation was 34.3 degrees over the period.

It was supposed to be both winter's last blast and Baltimore's first significant snowfall in two years, but stubbornly warm air took the "snow" out of Wednesday's snow day for many Marylanders. While weather forecasts had the region preparing for the worst - as much as a foot of heavy snow causing potentially hundreds of thousands of power outages - what it got was little more than a nasty day of slushy rain, though several inches of snow stuck north and west of the city. Yet heavy winds toppled a tractor-trailer on the Bay Bridge, shutting the span down in both directions for about four hours.

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.

Meteorologists watching forecast models for a potential mid-week snowfall are gaining confidence that a developing storm could affect Maryland, but whether it will bring significant snow accumulation remains uncertain. Models were showing late Saturday an area of low pressure likely to reach the region Tuesday night through Wednesday, potentially packing a large amount of moisture. As with many storm systems to pass through this winter, it was not immediately clear where that water might fall as rain and where as snow.

After a sloppy start to the week, the sun will return to the Baltimore area briefly, as will higher temperatures peaking midweek. But it is not expected to last long, with the cold returning Thursday and Friday. "It's going to be quite a shift from last week," said Greg Schoor, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sterling, Va. "It's what we say in the meteorology business is a 'dramatic pattern shift' — one extreme to another. " Rain showers were expected Monday afternoon with a slight chance of rain at night, less than a tenth of an inch possible and an overnight low around 38, according to the National Weather Service.

The National Weather Service, concluding its search for the culprit responsible for all the lousy weather in 1996, has identified a suspect.Blame it on the troughs, the service said.Troughs, explains meteorologist Chris Strong, are streams of cold air pushing down from the polar regions."From last November, we just happened to be pretty consistent with a trough over the eastern part of the United States," said Strong, who works out of the weather service's Sterling, Va., office. "That's brought a lot of cold weather, cloudy weather, wet weather," he said.

Forecasters are watching another possible mess of a light wintry mix on Friday. As the window for a big snowfall narrows, though, at least one forecaster still sees favorable snow chances in the weeks ahead. Meteorologists are watching two key climate patterns that influence storm tracks, and Friday, they are expected to butt heads, helping to keep the forecast for Maryland tricky. One indicator known as the North Atlantic Oscillation, known for sending monster snowstorms up the East Coast, is helping push some precipitation through the area.