The first thunderstorms of the spring season rolled across the region Sunday. After a day and a half of drizzle and fog, the sun broke through Sunday afternoon and drove temperatures into the 70s. The warm temperatures combined with an approaching cold front helped develop a couple of lines of thunderstorms, some of which became [...]
Archive for March, 2009
The First Spring Storm
March 30, 2009
Winter Dakota Flooding
March 27, 2009
It would be hard to convince North Dakotans that spring has arrived. Yes, the calendar says spring and, yes, the Red River of the North is in a spring flood mode. But, snow is still on the ground and today, temperatures are in the teens.
NASA Satellite Image
The satellite image above shows the snow cover over [...]
Mt. Redoubt Eruption Fallout
March 27, 2009
The eruption of the Mt Redoubt volcano was not just a “local” event in Alaska. Gasses and dust were injected into the upper levels of the atmosphere and are being carried by high altitude winds to the lower 48 states.
The NOAA/NASA image below was taken by a research satellite and shows a widespread area of [...]
More Alaska Volcano Pictures
March 25, 2009
Additional pictures have come in covering the eruption of Mt. Redoubt in Alaska.
The GOES-11 satellite image above shows an ash plume rising above the cloud deck.
Mt. Redoubt, March 23, 2009. Courtesy: Alaska Volcano Observatory
The picture above is a webcam image of Mt. Redoubt taken on Monday. Ash and steam are rising from the crater at [...]
Alaska Volcano Eruption
March 23, 2009
Alaska’s Mt Redoubt has erupted after weeks of seismic rumblings hinted at a possible event. Redoubt is southwest of Anchorage.
The image below is from the Anchorage National Weather Service Doppler radar site.
Most of the radar echoes are the result of “clutter” from surrounding terrain. The red/orange/yellow dot on the left edge of the image is the ash [...]
Snapshot of the Start of Spring
March 20, 2009
Winter is over. Spring started officially at 7:44am. Today is the day that the sun is directly overhead at the equator. From this point on the sun’s apparent position in the sky will move farther north and provide longer daylight hours in the northern hemisphere.
Using BWI-Marshall Airport as a reference point, the sun rose today [...]
Dry Spell Pushing Toward 6 Months
March 19, 2009
A few tenths of an inch of rain accompanied the cold front moving through today, but we could use quite a bit more. Climate stats at BWI-Marshall show a precipitation deficit of 7.85″ since October of last year.
Tom Tasselmyer
Seasonal Contrasts
March 18, 2009
The region remains dry.
On the other hand the history books show that March can have a very different look.
Be careful of what you wish for.
John Collins
Rain Needed
March 15, 2009
A rainy forecast for a weekend may be inconvenient for some but in the current situation it is not a totally bad thing. The area is running a little short on precipitation so far this year.
A couple of impulses will be coming this way today and tomorrow but the rain associated with them will be [...]
Historic Storm
March 13, 2009
It was referred to as “The Storm of the Century”. Its’ effects were felt across the eastern third of the nation in mid March, 1993.
Courtesy: NASA
The satellite image above shows the storm as it was developing and advancing on the eastern seaboard. Tornadoes, wind gusts over 100 mph, coastal flooding, blizzard conditions and record snows [...]
