Weather Station

Cecil Community College has created an on-site weather station that calculates real-time meteorological information as part of the Automated Weather Source's WeatherNet, a network of about 5,000 weather-documenting schools across the country. Data collected include temperature, humidity, precipitation, barometric pressure and winds. The information is accessible via the college's Web site, www.cecil.cc.md.us. Gail Wyant of Chester County, Pa., a professor of physics and mathematics as well as meteorology instructor for CCC, said the data provided by the weather station serve as a resource not only for students and teachers, but also for residents throughout the region.

Heavy rains dropped more than 1.5 inches on parts of Howard, Carroll and Baltimore counties Tuesday, prompting flood warnings. The heaviest rains fell to the northwest of the Interstate 95 corridor, along a stretch from western Montgomery County to the northwestern tip of Harford. Most areas west of I-95  received at least half an inch of rain, with more than an inch over a wide swath and 1.5 to 2 inches in isolated areas, according to radar estimates . The National Weather Service issued flood warnings for urban areas and streams in Howard, Carroll, Baltimore and Montgomery counties at 12:37 p.m. through 3:30 p.m. Flooding closed some roads in Montgomery, according to the warning.

It might not be any cooler in downtown Baltimore this summer. But at least the weather reports will sound cooler.The National Weather Service switched its downtown weather station yesterday from the chronically overheated roof of the Custom House on Gay Street to a grassy spot across the harbor at the Maryland Science Center.The new station is expected to produce hourly temperature readings 3 to 5 degrees cooler than the old one."I think it's a real winner for people in Baltimore," said meteorologist John Newkirk, of the weather service's Sterling, Va., office, where the region's daily weather reports and forecasts are compiled.

Steady showers moved across Maryland this morning, and forecasts are still showing there could be more where that came from late this afternoon. Relatively cool temperatures could keep the most severe storms at bay, though. A quarter of an inch of rain fell at BWI Marshall Airport between 6 a.m. and 11 a.m. It followed 0.19 inches of rain Thursday at the airport. At The Sun's weather station at Calvert and Centre streets downtown, 0.28 inches of rain fell starting after 6:30 a.m. The heaviest rainfall was recorded between 7 a.m. and 7:30 a.m., at a rate of 1.35 inches per hour.

J oe Bollinger in Glen Burnie asks: "How is snow measured at an unmanned weather station?" Some aim a video camera at a ruler. But the National Weather Service uses humans. Snow falls on a white, plywood "snow board," and is measured with a stainless steel ruler. The board is wiped clean every six hours. BWI's weather station is unmanned, but its snow board is tended by a control tower employee under contract to the NWS.

We topped 70 degrees on this springlike day, with highs of 73 degrees at the Sun weather station and 72 at BWI Airport. (Does it even make sense to say "springlike" at this point? The season seems to have all but arrived.) Thursday morning picked up where Wednesday left off, starting from an overnight low of just 54 at BWI Airport and 55 at the Sun weather station downtown. Normal lows this time of year are about freezing, with highs expected around 50. But clouds and gusty winds were expected to move into the area by the afternoon.

Another spell of hotter-than-average weather arrives in Maryland today, and isn't expected to leave for a while. We have been mostly below normal for the past eight days, with Sunday's 70-degree high about normal for this time of year. The last stretch of heat had temperatures near or above 80 degrees from April 14-17, including a record 90-degree day April 16. Since then, three days have failed to break 60 degrees and most have been in the 60s. But temperatures are expected to push 80 degrees from today through the weekend, according to forecasts.

It was plenty hot this week in downtown Baltimore. It's only the thermometer that has cooled off.At the end of April, the National Weather Service moved itsdowntown weather station from the broiling rooftop of the old Custom House on Gay Street, to a grassy patch across the Inner Harbor.Since then, the official daily highs reported for downtown have been lower, by as much as 9 degrees, than those that would have been reported from the Custom House. The overnight lows have been as much as 12 degrees cooler.

It's gusty out there, and with low moisture in the air, that means a risk of wildfires. The National Weather Service is forecasting 10 to 20 mph winds with gusts up to 30 mph. At the Sun weather station dowtown, gusts have been reaching 20 mph throughout the morning. Dew points have dropped to the mid-30s. With low humidity, dry brush and gusty winds, there is an "enhanced threat" for wildfires, the weather service cautions in a hazardous weather outlook. Speaking of the wind, here's an interesting look at it shared with me by a tweeter at last night's Sun Tweetup at Bond Street Social in Fells Point.

We've had a good taste of early spring; now it's time for a little summer. Humidity is approaching levels more likely seen in May or June. Downtown, at the Sun weather station on Calvert Street, temperatures reached 80 degrees at 3 p.m. with a dew point of 62 degrees, which means a sticky feeling at the low end of uncomfortable territory for most people. Earlier this morning, there was 81 percent relative humidity and the dew point reached as high as 66. BWI Airport reported 80 degrees and a dew point of 52 as of 2 p.m.  It could likely be the hottest day of what has already been such a warm year.

Another spell of hotter-than-average weather arrives in Maryland today, and isn't expected to leave for a while. We have been mostly below normal for the past eight days, with Sunday's 70-degree high about normal for this time of year. The last stretch of heat had temperatures near or above 80 degrees from April 14-17, including a record 90-degree day April 16. Since then, three days have failed to break 60 degrees and most have been in the 60s. But temperatures are expected to push 80 degrees from today through the weekend, according to forecasts.

Temperatures had topped 80 degrees by about 12:30 p.m., and rose quickly, with 85 degrees recorded at BWI Airport and 86 degrees at the Sun weather station as of 4 p.m. That surpassed the forecasts of both the National Weather Service and AccuWeather.com. The National Weather Service had been predicting highs in the upper 70s, while AccuWeather called for a high of about 82. It was a few degrees shy of the hottest April 15 on record for Baltimore. The record is 88 degrees set in 1941.

It's gusty out there, and with low moisture in the air, that means a risk of wildfires. The National Weather Service is forecasting 10 to 20 mph winds with gusts up to 30 mph. At the Sun weather station dowtown, gusts have been reaching 20 mph throughout the morning. Dew points have dropped to the mid-30s. With low humidity, dry brush and gusty winds, there is an "enhanced threat" for wildfires, the weather service cautions in a hazardous weather outlook. Speaking of the wind, here's an interesting look at it shared with me by a tweeter at last night's Sun Tweetup at Bond Street Social in Fells Point.

We've had a good taste of early spring; now it's time for a little summer. Humidity is approaching levels more likely seen in May or June. Downtown, at the Sun weather station on Calvert Street, temperatures reached 80 degrees at 3 p.m. with a dew point of 62 degrees, which means a sticky feeling at the low end of uncomfortable territory for most people. Earlier this morning, there was 81 percent relative humidity and the dew point reached as high as 66. BWI Airport reported 80 degrees and a dew point of 52 as of 2 p.m.  It could likely be the hottest day of what has already been such a warm year.

It feels like there's a chill in the air, but this is really just a normal day for mid-March with temperatures struggling to break out of the 50s Friday. A cold front that slipped over the Baltimore area Thursday has stalled south of here and clouds have been stubborn to break, said Heather Sheffield, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sterling, Va. That has kept temperatures from climbing much at all from the overnight low of 50 degrees at BWI Airport. It was 52 and foggy at BWI as of 11 a.m. and 55 at the Sun weather station downtown as of noon.

We topped 70 degrees on this springlike day, with highs of 73 degrees at the Sun weather station and 72 at BWI Airport. (Does it even make sense to say "springlike" at this point? The season seems to have all but arrived.) Thursday morning picked up where Wednesday left off, starting from an overnight low of just 54 at BWI Airport and 55 at the Sun weather station downtown. Normal lows this time of year are about freezing, with highs expected around 50. But clouds and gusty winds were expected to move into the area by the afternoon.

Wednesday morning started out freezing, but it feels like spring already. BWI Airport started the morning at 32 degrees at 7 a.m. but appears to be topping out at 67 degrees as of 4:30 p.m. The Sun weather station at Centre and Calvert streets is posting a high of 67 degrees, as well. The National Weather Service was predicting a high of 63 today and 68 tomorrow. It's welcome news for many who didn't mind the mild winter and are ready for spring already. But I've spoken with some businesses that suffered through the winter season and have now given up on snow as a lost cause.

G eorge Weiner, in Bel Air , asks: " Why was BWI chosen as the 'official' site for collection weather data? Since that data is taken from a very small, specific place in time, of what value is it ?" The airport became Baltimore's official weather station in 1950. It was moved from the Customs House downtown out of concern about unrepresentative conditions on an urban rooftop. NWS instruments are now in a grassy area of the airport. Long surface data records can reveal important changes over time.