RodneyS

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

October 4th peaked at 55 degrees this afternoon at both DCA and IAD, setting low maximum records for DC and Dulles.

DCA _ NYC _ BOS __ ORD _ ATL _ IAH ___ DEN _ PHX _ SEA -1.9 -1.2 -0.9 0.0 -1.5 1.4 1.2 -0.1 1.5

DCA _ NYC _ BOS __ ORD _ ATL _ IAH ___ DEN _ PHX _ SEA 1.0 1.3 1.3 0.5 -0.6 -0.6 3.1 0.8 1.0

DCA _ NYC _ BOS __ ORD _ ATL _ IAH ___ DEN _ PHX _ SEA 0.2 0.9 1.1 -0.4 -0.6 0.5 1.5 -0.6 0.7

Yes, in terms of it being the wettest February on record in DC, at 6.98 inches. February 2003 also featured the Presidents Day II snow storm, which dropped 16.7 inches of snow at DCA during February 15-18, and a major rainfall event of 2.27 inches there on February 22nd.