Kite weather
If only I didn't have to be here on the inside looking out, I might be in a park somewhere today, with a kite. This would appear to be perfect March kite weather, with sunny skies, highs in the 60s and sustained winds predicted to be around 20 mph. Gusts could reach 45 to 50 mph, forecasters 
say.
In fact, the National Weather Service forecast office in Sterling has posted a Wind Advisory north of Baltimore until 4 p.m. today. That means wind gusts from 46 to 57 mph are possible, enough to make driving difficult, especially for high-profile vehicles. (Not to mention little ones, like mine.)
There's also a gale warning on the northern part of the Chesapeake and small craft advisories across the mid-bay and the tidal Potomac River.
And, with humidities dropping rapidly, the wind will also pose a increased fire danger today, forecasters warned. So use your ashtray. (I've always been tempted, at red lights, to get out of my car and toss those still-smoking butts back INTO the car in front of me when the driver tosses it to the curb. But I've always thought twice about that idea, which may be why I'm still here.)
Where was I?
Okay, so aside from the wind, we're looking at a fine day today, with a high near 63, which is more than 10 degrees above the long-term average for this time of year in Baltimore. But cooler weather and a series of showers come next Tuesday and Wednesday as several storm systems pass by to our north and west.
Cold fronts moving by in the wake of these disturbances will bring back sunny skies by Thursday and Friday, with unseasonably cold air, in the upper 40s by day and dipping to freezing at night. The weekend, at least, looks pleasant, with sunny skies and highs in the 50s.
So, how about the week just past? From the low of 8 degrees early on Wednesday we climbed to a high of 76 degrees at BWI by Sunday afternoon. That's a 68-degree spread in just four days. Hard to calculate how rare that is, but the largest temperature spread on a single calendar date in Baltimore was 48 degrees on April 1, 1978 - from 40 degrees to 88 degrees.
Note to readers: The usual links to data tables and weather maps are missing here this morning because the NWS Web site is experiencing difficulties. I will paste them in when they become available.
Comments
Frank,
Just to be sure that you understood my earlier comments this morning about the recent extreme temperature swing. This only pertained to the month of March.
And even your example of April 1st 1978, which is obviously right on the cusp, only had a 53 degree temperature swing. From a low of 35 degrees a couple of days earlier, to a high of 88.
And in case you did not know. Dulles had a 69 degree temperature swing this past week.
Posted by: Jim Hughes | March 9, 2009 1:09 PM
Frank,
Do you have any early readings/feelings on the April 4th weekend? A friend of mine is getting married, and my wife is the wedding planner and photographer.
They are getting married in College Park and then they are doing pictures at the Tidal Basin in DC before the reception. We're all hoping that the weather will be good that day!
I seem to recall one of your posts where you mentioned someone from accuweather was watching a weather system in early April, possibly wintry-like weather.
FR: I'm afraid there's no reliable way to forecast the weather that far in advance, especially for April. The average high for April 4 (at Reagan National) is 62 degrees. The record high is 85, but the coldest April 4 only warmed to 39 degrees (in 1881). On the plus side, the long-range forecast suggests no extremes of temperature or precip for April. On the other hand, in 1944 it snowed. We survived weather roulette for my daughter's wedding last June. You'll be fine. Good luck!
Posted by: Sam | March 9, 2009 1:23 PM