The results are still coming in, but Taneytown, out in Carroll County, appears to have won the Dec. 6 metro area snow sweepstakes this morning with a whopping 1 inch of the white death. Here is a tally from CoCoRaHS.

Columbia, Severn, Frederick, even Hamilton in northeast Baltimore City also put in good performances with a half-inch or more. Good, that is, for a teeny first-snow-of-the-season-to-actually-accumulate. The official total for BWI on the 6th was 0.6 inch.

In case you missed it in the previous post, reader "Wayne" has made an astute observation with regard to our Dec. 5 snowfalls in Baltimore. We have been writing about the odd fact that BWI has recorded at least a trace of snow on four of the last five Dec. 5ths. The string of coincidences failed in 2004, and it appeared to have failed again this year, with no snow noted at BWI on Friday.

But Wayne noted that this is a Leap Year. so we had an extra day in February. So maybe that delayed our customary Dec. 5 flakes by one calendar day. And since 2004, too, was a Leap Year, perhaps we can apply the Wayne Hypothesis to that year, as well. In that case, we have now seen snow at BWI on Dec. 5 (or Dec. 6th in Leap Years) for six years in a row.

Actually, a longer look at the records this morning adds a seventh year to the string. BWI recorded 7.4 inches on Dec. 5, 2002. 

That's Mr. Owl on the WeatherDeck in Cockeysville this morning, at left. And here's the list of Dec. 5/6 snowfalls at BWI:

2008:  Dec. 6 - 0.6 inch

2007:  Dec. 5 - 4.7 inches

2006:  Dec. 5 - Trace

2005:  Dec. 5 - 1.4 inches

2004:  Dec. 6 -  Trace

2003:  Dec. 5 -  0.85 inch

2002:  Dec. 5 -  7.4 inches

I like that. Of course it's nonsense. Coincidence. But so what? Enjoy the dusting. And if you're headed for the stadium tonight, dress for the wind and cold.