Eskimo Joe

We're really starting to see some impressive microclimates emerge. Thurmont dipped to 34 degrees, but just to the northeast Harney at its lower elevation decoupled to 26 degrees.

CONGRATULATIONS! MILLER A's FOR EVERYONE!

Could you imagine if we got a legit Dec 5th event? Something like a regionwide 3" - 5" fluff storm? This place would crash from excitement.

For me it's a toss up between PD II (Feb 2003) and December 2009. Both events I experienced in Philadelphia and Lancaster County, PA respectively. PD II: I was in high school in Philly just got into winter weather tracking and had access to the Internet at my high school library for the last period of the day. The librarian was always gracious enough to let me just quietly geek out on model guidance and NWS web pages. Watching this storm get more and more interesting as we closed on the end of the work week was awesome. December 2009: I was working 2nd into 3rd shift at the IT Help Desk at Millersville University and got paid to do homework and watch both the 18z and 00z model guidance come in on a triple monitor display with a nice Internet connection. I was also was a lead forecaster for our campus weather service at the time, and we had access to a read-only version of NWS chat. It was just pure giddiness to watch the 1.5" QPF line creep north with each model cycle, reach the AFDs from LWX/CTP/PHI and see the inklings of watches or warning start to come up in the chat rooms. I felt like I had access to almost secret data and it was AMAZING! Then came the morning before the event and I knew it was going to puke snow all along Mason-Dixon. It was the end of my undergraduate years and I was supposed to walk in graduation on the 19th, but I knew that wasn't going to happen. So I rushed back to Philly and boom...White Christmas.

Cool story: about one month after I got my basic SKYWARN class (Mt. Holly WFO) we got this low topped, limited lightning line that blitzed through Philly. My home weather station recorded a 61 mph wind gust and it just totaled all of the sycamore trees in my neighborhood. Was the first time I ever witnessed such a thing.

Camp David just gusted to 59 mph.

Just gusted to 51 mph!

Impressive spike of wind here in Reisterstown.

Anything outside of HR 60 to 90 just treat with skepticism.

GEFS has been trending the right way with this first cool shot. Fingers crossed this is a sign of things to come?

@WxUSAF would like this: Ridging in Alaska Ridging in Greenland NW flow all the way back to the North Pole Stressed polar vortex

Will be interesting to see if it extends this cool punch by a few days next week. Euro has been trying to flush it in and out in about 36 - 48 hours.

Thoughts on this from anyone? Perhaps there is now a Euro mid-range high QPF/warmth bias that erodes as we close on events this winter?

A bit of mixing at the Westminster mesonet site and the RH already tanking into the mid 30s. Might be a sneaky wildfire risk closer to the metros.

I don't blame any TV or social media met for going average/above average in temps for winter. Since 2016, we've been stuck in a long term cycle of above normal temps during winter. Last year was the first real exception.

Watch DCA not freeze until like December 30th or something

Most likely reporting hail as snow. It's a dumb rule, but it's frozen so it count, IIRC.