Hi Frank,

Gee, more rain for the weekend....who would have guessed that. A coulple of days ago it was supposed to be a clear and sunny weekend, but I guess now that's changed. These forecasters are about as accurate as stockbrokers about now. Looks like October will just be bringing more of the same dismal weather.

As for the better conditions next week - you may want to bite your tongue on that one....Lord knows we've heard that before only to be greeted with -you guessed it- more rain and clouds instead.

Thanks,
David

FR: Eat some chocolate. You'll feel better.

"The earliest snow on record for Baltimore (a trace) fell on Oct. 9, 1903."

What about 1983 when the World Series game was canceled by snow in Baltimore? Wasn't that Oct. 3?

FR: Actually, that World Series snowstorm was in 1979, on Oct. 10. It was recorded at BWi as 0.3 inch, but the city saw more. That remains the earliest measureable snow for Baltimore.

Hi Frank. Can you please explain this "chimney" effect of moist air that we are getting from the Caribbean and FL? Seems like it has been just steady for a solid month despite two hurricanes having passed thru or nearby. Is it just an incredibly weak NW system hitting the low pressure system coming up from the south? Why wouldn't the NW system have won out at least once or twice in the last month? Never seen anything quite like this. One last questioin, I would assume that since all of our massive snows come from the south we are going to be "in a world of hurt" if this pattern holds into the winter. Yes? Thanks for your thoughts.

FR: Once again, I'm not a meteorologist. But as I understand it, in addition to Irene and remnants of Lee, our rainy August/Sept has been topped off in the past week or more by a stalled pair of weather systems. The Bermiuda high to our east spins clockwise, while the cut-off low to our west spins counterclockwise. The high over the ocean stands as a block to systems to the west. And the low stalls because it became disconnect from the jet stream. Combined, they have been funneling sub-tropical moisture north from the Gulf and the Atlantic up the east coast. So we get high humidity and a persistent pattern of showers and thunderstorms, with a few sunny breaks that sometimes work to fire up more thunderstorms. As for the winter, there's no real connection. The tropical storms will fade away as the autumn progresses, and the stalled pattern of the past week or more is breaking up even as we speak. The long-range forecast shows no strong trends either way. And the upcoming winter promises to be another La Nina Winter like last year, which delivered below-average snowfall for Baltimore. Things can change, but that's what it looks like from here.

little early to start scaring the masses with snow no?

FR: Just noting a milestone in the year's weather.