Another record threatened in Baltimore
The overnight low at BWI-Marshall this morning was a balmy (for March) 60 degrees, just after midnight. Temperatures have been rising ever since, and will take a long time falling tonight. That puts another record at risk.
This time it's the record high minimum for March 8 - the warmest low temperature for any March 8 on the books since record-keeping began here in 1871. Here's how science officer Steve Zubrick, out at the Sterling forecast office, put it to me in an email this morning:
"FYI...if our forecast for BWI holds...looks like we have a shot at breaking the record Hi-min for today...March 8.
"The current record is 52F (2000). The overnight low at BWI was 60F...and our hourly temperature forecast grids only drop to 58 by midnight tonight (Sun night).
UPDATE: The low temperature for March 8 at BWI was 54 degrees, setting a new record high minimum for the date.
"Tomorrow's record Hi-min of 56F set in 1921 appears safe...again if our forecast is good...temps should be falling sharply tomorrow (Mon) evening and into the overnight as the stationary front to the north sags south of the Balt. metro area. late Mon.
"Steve Z
SOO-NWS WFO Sterling"
Cool! Or is it "Warm!" ?
It's already been a month of extremes - on both ends of the thermometer, and in less than a week. We toppled the record low for a March 3 at BWI (10 degrees, breaking the 12-degree mark set in 1925); and the snowfall record for any March 2 (4.7 inches, besting the 3.7-inch mark set in 1969.)
Today's forecast high is 71 degrees. We've already reached 70, but there's little chance we'll break the high-temperature record for the date - 83 degrees, set in 2000).
But busting the record high minimum looks like an easy target. The mark - 52 degrees - is the lowest record minimum still standing for March.
Comments
Frank,
One of the unique things about this recent warmth was it's extremeness for March when one takes into consideration the daily low temperature from four days earlier, eight degrees, and the high on the 8th, 76 degrees.
The last time BWI saw a 68 degree rise within a four day period was in March 1990. And some of us talked about all of this within my forecast thread at Eastern that you gave a link to the other day.
But nobody new what the record was for this. Not even some meteorologists. Because extreme swings like this are not as common as some tend to believe.
Posted by: Jim Hughes | March 9, 2009 9:08 AM