RodneyS

Okay. FYI, an astonishing historical DC snow fact is this: In the winter of 1913-14, no measurable snow fell until February 13, 1914. Then a Valentine's Eve/Valentine's Day storm dropped 4.5 inches. That seemed to open the snow gates, as after that snow fell on an additional nine days through March 22, 1914, resulting in 28.6 inches for the season, of which a record 19.3 inches fell in March. Now fast forward to the winter of 1959-60. Believe it or not, once again no measurable snow fell in DC until February 13th, and once again a Valentine's Eve/Valentine's Day storm dropped significant snow -- this time, 6.2 inches. And once again, that seemed to open the snow gates, as after that snow fell on an additional seven days through March 16, 1960, resulting in 24.3 inches for the season, of which 17.1 inches fell in March -- the second most ever -- second only to March 1914.

At this point, both you and I are wishing that we had low-balled @Little Village Wx. However, snow lovers who are Washington Post subscribers can console themselves by consulting their archives and reading a January 20, 1987 article written by Mary Jordan titled "Snow Hopes Dashed" (p. B1). The article stated, among other things: " . . .(DC) residents were still waiting yesterday for the area's first measurable snowfall . . . Rain and temperatures above freezing were expected during the rest of the week, the National Weather Service said." Two days later, DCA recorded 10.8 inches of snow. Three days after that was Super Bowl Sunday, and an overnight storm dropped another 9.2 inches of snow. The Federal Government was closed on Monday, but Tuesday afternoon, January 27, 1987, produced perhaps the most epic traffic jam in DC history, as the 20 inches of snow on the ground and the temperature range of 9 to 30 at DCA proved too much for the (three?) DC snowplows to overcome during the PM rush hour. (I know because I was in that traffic jam.) When that snow was finally removed and things were back to normal, February 22-23 saw another two-day storm that dropped an additional 10.2 inches at DCA. Am I saying that the above scenario will repeat this year? . . . Of course not, only Jebman would say that.

The 60+ degree weather streak has ended, but it established a DC record for the first five days of the year for both average maximum and average mean temperatures. January 1-5, 2023 averaged a 65.0 maximum, breaking the January 1-5, 2000 record of 62.3; and a 55.6 mean, breaking the January 1-5, 1950 record of 54.5.

The 60+ degree weather streak at DCA to begin the New Year has reached a DC record five days. However, that streak will almost certainly end today, and so will not challenge the more general eight-day January 60+ degree streak that began on January 2, 1998.

Today at DCA marks four straight days with 60+ readings. As I noted yesterday, no calendar year in DC had ever previously begun with even three straight 60+ readings. However, in 1998, after New Year's Day peaked at only 35 at DCA, eight straight days (January 2-9) reached at least 60.

After our Christmas weekend freeze, January so far has been a thaw and then some: Today marked the third straight 60+ degree reading at DCA, which had never previously happened in DC weather history to begin the year.

DCA _ NYC _ BOS _ ORD _ ATL _ IAH _ DEN _ PHX _ SEA 2.6 3.5 3.5 3.7 1.6 2.7 -0.3 -0.7 0.3

Thank you, thank you very much.

I agree, and I think the main problem is that many people don't have the time to devote to a monthly contest. However, it's a lot of fun for those of us who are able to set aside the time each month.

DCA and IAD have each reached what appears to be their maximum temperatures of 22 degrees for today, which breaks the 1989 Christmas Eve record low maximum of 23 at DCA and ties the 1989 Christmas Eve record low maximum at IAD.

I just posted this on the Capital Weather Gang page: Yesterday's 43-degree temperature range at DCA (55 maximum, 12 minimum) was the widest in exactly 24 years and one day, and tied for the 13th widest in DC history. On December 22, 1998, the mercury plunged from a high of 67 to a low of 24. The widest range ever in DC was March 22, 1907 when the temperature rose from a morning low of 40 to an afternoon high of 90.

While today's DCA total of 1.88 inches is a long way from any of the above days, it is the wettest winter (astronomical or meteorological) day in exactly four years. December 15, 2018 established the record for this calendar day with 2.55 inches.

I will keep track of your forecast, and will award you honorary membership in the Mid-Atlantic Snow Forecast Contest Hall of Fame, if your entry would have won. In the meantime, mark your calendar for Friday, December 1, 2023, which will be the deadline for next year's contest.

For the 2022-23 snow season contest, we have 64 entrants, up from 59 in 2021-22. Assuming that none of last season's entrants changed their user names, 48 entrants this season are returnees and 16 are new. Note that 2021-22 winner IUsedToHateCold is looking for a big snow season, after correctly foreseeing a rather run-of-the-mill season in 2021-22. The average amount forecast for the four airports combined this season is 63.3 inches, with a median of 58.9 inches. Here is the list, in ascending order of combined forecast snow. If you see any errors, please advise.

Do you have a tiebreaker selection?

Final Call -- deadline is this evening at 11:59 PM EST. We have 60 so far, but 14 folks who participated last year have not yet entered.

DCA _ NYC _ BOS ___ ORD _ ATL _ IAH ____ DEN _ PHX _ SEA -1.1 -0.2 0.2 -1.3 -0.3 2.4 1.4 0.4 -2.8 DCA _ NYC _ BOS ___ ORD _ DTW _ BUF ___ DEN _ SEA _ BTV 7.4 33.0 50.0 44.0 48.0 93.0 46.0 7.0 98.0

Do you have a tie-breaker selection?

BWI: 8.7" DCA: 7.4" IAD: 12.9" RIC: 3.3" Tiebreaker: (SBY): 2.9" Note that this contest will lock this coming Thursday (December 1st) at 11:59 PM. If you have not yet submitted an entry or wish to edit your existing entry, now would be a good time. If you edit, either do so to your existing post and message me, or submit a new post. Thanks.

Thanks.

TB is for SBY or LYH?

Thanks for fixing -- my friend was able to sign up.

I have a friend who just tried to sign up. She states: "I registered for an account on American weather but I never received a confirmation email to activate my account. I tried having them resend the confirmation email but it never went through." Something appears to be wrong in general because the newest member is listed as Michael Butler, who signed up on September 5th -- presumably, numerous people have tried to sign up since then. Can someone look into this problem? Thanks.

It's time for the new and improved 8th annual Mid-Atlantic snowfall contest! Well okay, it's the same as last year, with only the administrator changing. PrinceFrederickWx has done a great job of running this contest, but I think figured he would have a better chance of winning it if he focuses exclusively on his proprietary PFWX Forecast Model. As he noted last year, everyone is encouraged to play, including lurkers, new members, and people outside the region. Please note that you are forecasting the total snowfall for the entire snow season (NOT just Dec/Jan/Feb) to the nearest one-tenth of an inch for the four major Mid-Atlantic airports: BWI International (BWI), Reagan National (DCA), Dulles International (IAD) and Richmond International (RIC). Generally, snow does not fall after early April at any of these airports, and so the contest is usually finalized by early to mid-April. For the tiebreaker, please choose one of the following two airports: Salisbury, MD (SBY) or Lynchburg, VA (LYH). Choose only one -- in the event of the tiebreaker, the difference at the airport you chose will be compared with the difference at the airport your opponent(s) chose. The winner will be the person who has the lowest combined absolute value departure for all four airports. For example, if you forecast: BWI: 0.0" DCA: 0.0" IAD: 0.0" RIC: 10.0" And the actual seasonal totals turn out to be: BWI: 2.5" DCA: 2.5" IAD: 2.5" RIC: 2.5" Your absolute value departures would be: BWI: 2.5 DCA: 2.5 IAD: 2.5 RIC: 7.5 Thus, your total departure would be 15.0. Please use the following format when posting your forecast, in this order: BWI: DCA: IAD: RIC: Tiebreaker (SBY or LYH): The deadline for entries is Thursday, December 1, at 11:59pm. You are welcome to edit your forecast as many times as you want until the deadline. If there's any accumulating snow before the deadline, please include that in your forecast as well. I think the best approach is to submit your forecast well in advance of the deadline and edit it if necessary, just in case you get tied up on December 1st. The winner gets an E-trophy made of snow and an induction into the Hall of Fame with the previous winners: 2015-16: @Shadowzone 2016-17: @Stormpc 2017-18: @olafminesaw 2018-19: @olafminesaw (tiebreaker win against @Stormpc) 2019-20: @Prestige Worldwide 2020-21: @NorthArlington101 2021-22: @IUsedToHateCold Good luck everyone!

DCA _ NYC _ BOS __ ORD _ ATL _ IAH __ DEN _ PHX _ SEA 1.3 2.3 2.2 2.5 1.8 1.9 1.4 -0.9 -2.1