So where were you during yesterday's torrential rains? "What torrential rains?" you say.  I don't blame you. I can't recall a weather event as localized as the monsoon that struck downtown Baltimore on Wednesday evening.

An almost tropical downpour and gusty winds lashed downtown from about 6 p.m. to 6:30. The rain gauge at The Sun totaled up 0.72 inches in that short time. And it fell in torrents - as high as 6.94 inches an hour at one point. The message scroll on my Davis Vantage Pro2 weather console kept screaming, "It's raining cats and dogs!" Like we couldn't see it outside the window. And to the north, the sky was blue, and the sun continued to shine in the west windows.

"We had an amazing monsoon here in East Baltimore.  Torrents of rain, lashing winds....," said a Weather Blog commenter, BankStreet.

"Rich" reported: "I was running from Otterbein to Canton during the worst of it; it came on suddenly.  Just before it broke there were wind gust coming southward towards the harbor that were nearly blowing people (self included) off their feet."

"Heather" was in Fells Point: "I managed to park my car in a dry spot in Fells as it was starting. Waited it out in the car watching the radar on my phone, and it looked like the little bit of storm kept expanding and contracting, hovering right over downtown."

"Matthew" was in the city, north of downtown: "That thing is tiny, i'm on greenmount right at 39th and got nothing."

And, looking at the rainfall maps this morning, it's hard to find any evidence there was any rain at all beyond downtown Baltimore yesterday evening. 

The Maryland Science Center reported 0.75 inch. But BWI-Marshall Airport reported no rain. Martin State Airport reported no rain. Annapolis reported no rain until well after sunset. On the CoCoRaHS Network, Bel Air and Elkton stations reported just 0.08 inch. We had nothing in the gauge out on the WeatherDeck in Cockeysville.

The National Weather Service radar estimates showed a maximum of 1.5 inches fell around the Inner Harbor. Did anyone else in Baltimore get a rain gauge reading?

Anyway, the rain was welcome, even if it only cooled the city. And we were rewarded with a spectacular rainbow.

Posted by Frank Roylance at 9:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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BGE said it is working to restore power to an estimated 10,000 people after Thursday's thunderstorms. More than 53,000 people total had lost power. UPDATE: We'll be posting storm updates here.

The rain has brought some relief to this week's heat wave.  Today's high is forecast to be 92, but with a dewpoint of 67 degrees, it will still be muggy. There's a 30 percent chance of showers later this afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.

Trees were spotted down on Charles Street near Cathedral Mary Our Queen (pictured). Anyone else spot any damage? Tell us in the comments. 

Baltimore Sun photo by Kim Hairston

Posted by Kim Walker at 7:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Emergency personnel in Queen Anne's County on Maryland's Eastern Shore scrambled this afternoon to check out reports of a tornado in the northern portions of the county. But Kevin Aftung, the director of emergency services says his crews have found no signs of any damage or injuries.

"Every place where there has been a report has had at least a crew there to look, but they have seen no damage," he said. "At this point we're clear. We continue to search."

The National Weather Service forecast office in Mt. Holly, N.J., which covers the northern Shore, had issued a tornado warning for the area, Aftung said. It came without the usual precursors of severe storm warnings and tornado watches. And as quickly as it was posted, it was canceled, he said.

"The sky got darker, like there was going to be a storm," Aftung said. "It kinda developed very quickly and moved off very quickly."

But then the phones started ringing. "We have five reports of funnel-shaped clouds in the sky during the height of the storm," he said. But "we have no evidence of a touchdown of any of the funnel clouds." He said it was posible the reports came from five people observing the same funnel.

The calls came from the northern portion of the county near the communities of Church Hill, Rolths Wharf and Duck Neck.

WJLA-TV Channel 7 in Washington has a photo of a funnel on its website which it says was taken near Worton, in Kent County. It's not clear whether the funnel is a tornado or a waterspout.

Elsewhere, the National Weather Service forecast office in Sterling, Va. has posted a Flash Flood Warning for northwestern Baltimore County, including Boring, Upperco and Glyndon, until 3:15 p.m. Slow-moving showers and thunderstorms were expected to drop as much as 2 inches of rain on the area.

Posted by Frank Roylance at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Suburban counties around Baltimore and Washington recorded as much as a half-inch of rain from the showers and thunderstorms that rolled through overnight. But apart from the rain, and some winds gusting to 39 mph at BWI, there was little else to show for the ruckus. A Tornado Watch issued just after 2 a.m. was later canceled.

BGE reported only a few hundred outages overnight. Temperatures, which reached a record 86 degrees Monday at BWI-Marshall Airport, dropped back into the 50s by daybreak as the cold front moved through, and we aren't expected to see the 70s again until next week.

The only storm damage being reported by the weather service this morning are some downed poles and wires near Port Tobacco, in Charles County, and similar tree damage in Calvert County. Rain and snow showers were in the forecast this morning for parts of Garrett and Allegany counties.

The photo is from Sunday night's storm, in Howard County. Here are some rain totals for last night from across the region, as reported by the CoCoRaHS Network:

Sykesville, Howard County:  0.52 inch

White Oak, Montgomery County:  0.51 inch

Baldwin, Baltimore County:  0.47 inch

Columbia, Howard County:  0.46 inch

Reisterstown, Baltimore County:  0.38 inch

Bel Air, Harford County:  0.35 inch

Baltimore City:  0.34 inch

Severn, Anne Arundel County:  0.21 inch

(PHOTO: James Willinghan, Howard County, 11:15 p.m. Sunday, April 3, 2011. Used with permission)

Posted by Frank Roylance at 8:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
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High winds have caused some damage at the Catoctin Wildlife Preserve and Zoo, in Turmont, but the folks out there say all the animals - and people - have come through unharmed. Spokeswoman Susan Small reports:

"Strong winds turned animal shelters into kites! With the extreme stormy and windy conditions over the last 24 hours, the Catoctin Wildlife Preserve and Zoo had down branches and limbs in Thurmont, MD.

"The biggest tree lost was a 60 foot Tulip Poplar near the Sun Bear enclosure. Fortunately, none of the animals were injured and all of the exhibits were fine.

"To the shock of staff, however, the 60 foot Tulip Poplar tree fell directly on the front of a staff utility vehicle during it's daily rounds. The staff member driving the truck was fine, no injuries."

(PHOTOS: Catoctin Wildlife Preserve and Zoo)

Posted by Frank Roylance at 1:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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That noise you heard was the cold front sweeping through. The thunderstorms that crossed the region this afternoon dropped temperatures at BWI-Marshall from 91 degrees to 75 degrees between 1 and 2 p.m. As the sun returned, readings again began to climb, but the worst may be behind us.

The storm that crossed Baltimore City left 1.26 inches of rain in the gauge at The Sun's station, Calvert and Centre streets. That brings the month's total to 5.81 inches. The airport total stopped short at 0.41 inch - exactly the same as we saw in Sunday's storm. The July total is now 4.36 inches. The July average is 3.85 inches.

From here, we should see skies clear off and humidity levels drop as cooler, drier air moves in from the north and west.

Daytime temperatures should stay in the 80s at least until the middle of next week, according to the forecast from the National Weather Service in Sterling, Va. Then we can look forward, again, to daytime highs in the 90s. The summer's total so far: 41 days at 90 or more, and counting.

Even before this latest rain, Central Maryland had dropped out of the dry (colored) sections of the state's Drought Monitor map. The proportion of the state experiencing dry conditions nevertheless increased during the week ending on Tuesday as dry conditions pushed west to Garrett County. Washington County and most of Frederick remain in moderate drought, as do portions of Southern Maryland and the Lower Eastern Shore.

Worcester and most of Somerset counties have slipped back into severe drought.

Posted by Frank Roylance at 3:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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National Weather Service officials have surveyed the damage from high winds near Arkendale, Va. on Sunday, and determined no tornado was involved.

The damage, including a dozen large trees, was instead attributed to straight-line winds estimated at 80 mph. Based on radar and other data, the winds were found to be the likely result of a microburst generated by a collapsing thunderstorm.

Here's the NWS statement:

"AROUND 3 PM EDT...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM THAT DEVELOPED OVER MADISON
AND RAPPAHANNOCK COUNTIES RAPIDLY MOVED EAST AROUND 40 TO 50 MPH. BY
THE TIME THE STORM REACHED STAFFORD COUNTY...IT PRODUCED STRONG
WINDS AROUND 350 PM THAT KNOCKED A LARGE TREE ONTO A FENCE AND SHED
NEAR AQUIA HARBOR VIRGINIA AT THE END OF COAL LANDING ROAD.

"A FEW MINUTES LATER...A PORTION OF THE STORM COLLAPSED OVER THE WIDEWATER
AREA. THIS PRODUCED A CONCENTRATED AREA OF EXTREMELY STRONG WINDS
THAT HIT A HEAVILY WOODED AREA OF ARKENDALE VIRGINIA AROUND 355 PM.
WINDS ESTIMATED TO BE 80 MPH KNOCKED DOWN NEARLY A DOZEN TREES ON
BRENT POINT ROAD...JUST WEST OF ARKENDALE ROAD...AND JUST WEST OF
THE MAIN RAIL LINE THAT EXTENDS NORTHEAST THROUGH THE AREA. THE
LARGE TREES WERE PRIMARILY KNOCKED DOWN TO THE EAST...WHILE A FEW
POINTED TO THE NORTHEAST AND SOUTHEAST.

"AFTER SURVEYING THE SCENE...AND AVAILABLE SURFACE AND RADAR
DATA...IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE TREE DAMAGE ON BRENT POINT ROAD
WAS LIKELY CAUSED BY A MICROBURST WITH WINDS OF 80 MPH AT 355 PM."

Posted by Frank Roylance at 5:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Montgomery County authorities reported around 7:30 p.m. Friday evening that a large tree had fallen on a minivan at the intersection of Connecticut Avenue and East West Highway in Chevy Chase. Three people were reported pinned in the vehicle.

A technical rescue team rushed to the scene to free the people in the van. Two did not get out alive. Here's the Associated Press story that moved last night:

BETHESDA, Md. (AP) — Montgomery County fire officials say two people were killed when a part of a large tree fell on a minivan in Bethesda.

It happened about 7:20 p.m. Friday in windy and rainy weather on southbound Connecticut Avenue near East-West Highway.

Capt. Oscar Garcia of Montgomery County Fire and Rescue says part of the tree, about two and a half to three feet in diameter, fell on the minivan, which had eight occupants.

Garcia says an adult and a child were killed. He said another child sustained serious, life-threatening injuries.

Posted by Frank Roylance at 10:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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The severe thunderstorms have arrived as forecast in Baltimore. The sky blackened around 5:15 p.m. and torrential rains began, stalling traffic on the lower end of the JFX. But oddly, little thunder yet (5:20 p.m.) I did not notice any hail downtown.

The temperature has plummeted from 89 degrees at 4 p.m. this afternoon to 71 degrees at 5:20. You can track the weather changes on The Sun's weather station.

Hail nearly an inch in diameter was reported from the Butler section of Baltimore County this afternoon. Send us you comments and reports on what you're seeing. Send photos to me by email if you can. 

(iPhone photo by Tracey Halvorsen, Butcher's Hill/ Used with permission.)

Continue reading "Storm blackens Baltimore skies" »

Posted by Frank Roylance at 5:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
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Now people are asking ME to make the rain go away. Hey, I just write this stuff. If it were up to me, it would be snow! It's been way too long since our last real winter wonderland - I'd say almost three years, since the 13.1 inches that fell on Feb. 11-12, 2006. The story I wrote in December 2007 - "Why snow shoveling is bad for you" - is still holding, waiting for a shovel-worthy storm.

Anyway, today should see the last of the rain for a while as this low-pressure system linked to an approaching cold front moves out. For now, the barometer is still dropping - an impressive 29.28 inches and falling now at Guilford and Centre (left; thanks to the Crime Blog for the loan of Peter Hermann's window on the world).

Forecasters out at Sterling say we should be done with the rain by midnight, with partly sunny skies due on Thursday and seasonable highs near 41 degrees and gusty winds. Friday looks even sunnier, but a little colder and windy again as cold, dry air piles in behind the cold front.

A clipper system on Saturday could bring some showers, but another blast of cold, arctic air behind that will clear things out for Sunday and Monday, with highs only in the upper 30s.

The next chance for precip comes mid-week next week, but with temperatures trending warmer, it's likely to be more rain. So far this winter BWI has reported traces of snow on 13 dates from November through yesterday, but just one day with measureable amounts - 0.6 inch on Dec. 6. Pitiful.

But we've clocked plenty of rain from this two-day drip. We've recorded 1.15 inches on the gauge here at The Sun since the rain began yesterday. BWI has reported 1.45 inches. Here are some more precipitation totals from across the region.

Herold Harbor, (AA Co.):  1.68 inches

Bowie (PG): 1.58 inches

Severna Park (AA):  1.55 inches

Dunkirk (Calvert):  1.42 inches

Ellicott City (Howard):  1.3 inches

Towson (Baltimore Co.): 1.06 inches

Taneytown (Carroll):  1.05 inches

Kingsville (Harford):  1.03 inches

Posted by Frank Roylance at 10:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Storm reports
        

A look at the air space over North America and the Caribbean this morning reveals three swirling storms - one over the central U.S., a second just off the Delmarva coast, and a third building in the western Caribbean and threatening to become Hurricane Paloma sometime tomorrow.

From orbit, they look like the finger holes on a bowling ball.

Taking them one at a time, the big low spinning over the upper Plains states is bringing blizzard conditions to the Dakotas and thunderstorms to the Mississippi Valley. Up to a foot of snow is forecast today and tomorrow in the Dakotas. Travel on portions of Interstates 90 and 94 has been stopped or slowed. Wind gusts of nearly 80 mph have been recorded. Here's the wintry forecast for Rapid City, S.D.

The second low is the one that's been drifting slowly up the Eastern Seaboard for a couple of days, pushing clouds, drizzle and showers inland over much of eastern and central Maryland. The forecast says this storm should begin to slip north and east late today and tonight, bringing us slowly clearing skies. Friday looks sunny and warm, with a high near 70 at BWI Marshall. But that will be a short break. Another cold front, with more clouds and scattered showers, is due on Saturday. The big Plains storm looks like it will veer north and leave us alone.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Paloma continues to strengthen in the western Caribbean. She's the third cyclonic storm on the map this morning, and the "thumb hole" on the bowling ball.

Here is the latest advisory on Paloma. Here is the storm's forecast track. And here is the view from space.

At last check, the center of Paloma was still about 75 miles northeast of the Nicaragua-Honduras border. It was moving toward the north-northwest at about 7 mph, with top sustained winds of 45 mph. The forecast track shows it turning gradually toward the north, then the northeast.

A hurricane watch has been posted for the Cayman Islands. Jamaica and Cuba have been advised to watch the storm closely. A tropical storm watch remains in effect for parts of the Nicaraguan and Honduran coastline.

The chief threat appears to be heavy rain, with 4 to 8 inches likely, and isolated totals of a foot possible in the Central American nations.

UPDATE 4:20 p.m.: Paloma is nearing hurricane strength this afternoon, with top sustained winds near 65 mph. It is expected to become a hurricane late tonight or tomorrow. The hurricane watch for the Cayman Islands has been upgraded to a hurricane warning. The tropical storm watch for the Central American coast has been canceled.

Actually, there are four cyclonic storms twirling out there - the fourth one in the North Atlantic. Here's an amazing satellite loop, showing the scene in a wavelength that captures water vapor.

Posted by Frank Roylance at 10:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Storm reports
        

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning until noon Wednesday for Allegany County, with 4 to 7 inches of snow possible before it all ends. The Pittsburgh forecast office has a Winter Weather Advisory up for Garrett, with 3 to 5 inches possible there - and up to 8 inches in some isolated spots.

That's the Lakeside Creamery picnic area at Deep Creek Lake below. You can find the web cam here.

A NWS observer near Dolly Sods, not far from Elkins in West Virginia, has already reported 5 inches of snow this afternoon, according to the discussion from Sterling. Several other sites, also in West Virginia, have also reported 2 to 4 inches on the ground as lake-effect snows reach into the mountains. Friendsville, in Garrett County, Maryland, reported 0.1 inch.

So the snow season has begun. Sort of.

The departing coastal storm has also produced some impressive wind gusts across the region, including a 53 mph gust at Gaithersburg. Here is a list from the NWS.

We're not the only ones spotting flakes today. Here's a shot sent to me this evening by Aileen Kammer, in Cockeysville. It's from her grandmother in Burlington, N.J.:

"A mere 120 miles or so from us here in Cockeysville.  She said the snowflakes were big and wet and weren't accumulating.  But there they are!"

Posted by Frank Roylance at 5:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Meteorologists call it "training," not because it gives them practice in forecasting rainfall, but because it suggests a "train" of storms that keep passing over a narrow area, producing repeated downpours and high rain totals.

Anyway, that's what Baltimore and points north have been experiencing this morning. Showers and thunderstorms, some with heavy downpours, have been moving up the Chesapeake, heading inland over Baltimore and on northward. Here's how it looks this morning on the radar loop. (Later in the day things will likely change, so will the loop.)

So far, since midnight, we have recorded 0.66 inches of rain here on the WeatherDeck. The total since Thursday is 1.54 inches. Here's where to find a map of totals that will be reported shortly by National Weather Service volunteer weather observers. (The map as I write this is yesterday's, but should be updated shortly.)

For CoCoRaHS observers' reports, click here. Click on "Total Precip" at the top of the rain column and it will order them from the highest amounts, down to the lowest. Thurmont and Potomac have seen about 2 inches.

It's all being driven by that Atlantic storm that went ashore near Myrtle Beach. The low is now moving north and east along the Appalachians, still well to our southwest. But the counterclockwise flow around the center is still pumping very wet Atlantic air across the region. Here's the satellite loop.

Posted by Frank Roylance at 7:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Winds down at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station are huffing along at between 17 and 21 mph, with gusts to nearly 30 mph this morning, as that Atlantic storm moves closer to landfall later today in the Carolinas. It's even stormier at Ocean City, where the airport is reporting light rain and winds between 20 and 24 mph, gusting to 35 mph.

Our NWS forecasters, operating this week from facilities in State College, Pa. (their offices at Sterling, Va., are being moved this week to make way for runway expansion at Dulles International Airport), say we can expect rain to develop during the afternoon. We can use the moisture. BWI has recorded no rain at all for two weeks - since Sept. 12. 

Winds will rise to between 18 and 24 mph, with gusting to 40.

Most of our rain is expected to fall tonight - up to three-quarters of an inch at BWI. But we should be ready for at least occasional rain right through the day Friday and Saturday before this storm finally moves off to the northeast. Sunday and Monday will bring our next best shot at some sunshine.

The storm is not a hurricane, and for the moment not yet a tropical depression. But it is being tracked by the National Hurricane Center. Forecasters there say it is centered about 180 miles southeast of the South Caroliona/North Carolina border, moving slowly westward. Here's the satellite loop.

While it has "not yet acquired tropical characteristics," they said, it could still become a tropical or subtropical cyclone later today. 

But that probably won't matter much. It is still a strong low-pressure system, and it is already bringing strong winds, high surf, dangerous rip currents, coastal flooding and heavy rains to the Atlantic coast from South Carolina to Maryland.

In Maryland, a Coastal Flood Advisory remains in effect through the end of the week for the Chesapeake Bay's western shore, from Harford County to St. Mary's County. People along the bay shore can expect high tides 1 to 2 feet above normal predictions and minor flooding. Here are the high tide times for today and tonight:

HAVRE DE GRACE... 7:19 PM...
BOWLEY BAR... 4:57 PM...
FORT MCHENRY BALTIMORE... 4:06 PM AND 4:59 AM...
ANNAPOLIS U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY...2:36 PM AND 3:29 AM...
SOLOMONS ISLAND...11:28 AM AND 12:21 AM...
POINT LOOKOUT...10:38 AM AND 11:31 PM...

The NWS has also posted a Wind Advisory for Central and Southern Maryland and the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake Bay, with gusts to 45 mph today and tonight. Forecasters said:

"WINDS THIS STRONG MAY DOWN SOME TREES AND POWER LINES. WINDS THIS
STRONG CAN ALSO MAKE DRIVING DIFFICULT...ESPECIALLY FOR HIGH
PROFILE VEHICLES. USE EXTRA CAUTION"

When the time comes, you can track any BGE outages here. So far, it's quiet for the linemen.

There's also a Gale Warning for the tidal Potomac and the Chesapeake through tonight.

You can track the wind and barometric readings on the bay off Calvert Cliffs at the Cove Point Data Bouy, here. For conditions in downtown Baltimore, try The Sun's weather station at Calvert & Centre streets.

Posted by Frank Roylance at 10:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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A slow-moving thunderstorm is dropping quite a load of rain on portions of northern Baltimore County this afternoon. Although downtown Baltimore remains dry just before 6 p.m., radar shows more than 3 inches has fallen this afternoon on a small area of the country north of Towson.

Is that even possible? Maybe so. A private weather station reporting on the Weather Underground seems to confirm the radar estimates - more than 3 inches today on their gauge, too.

Anyone out there under this downpour? Send us a comment and describe what you're seeing. Better yet, send us a photo.

Here's how the NWS was reporting it. (We'll forgive their spelling):

AT 543 PM EDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM OVER
TOWSON...DRIFTING SLOWLY NORTH AT 5 MPH. ANOTHER STORM WAS LOCATED
JUST WEST OF GLENCOE...ALSO DRIFTING SLOWLY NORTH.

LOCATIONS THAT WILL LIKELY BE AFFECTED BY THESE STORMS INCLUDE
TOWNSON... COCKEYESVILLE... AND GLENCOE.

WIND GUSTS UP 40 MPH CAN ARE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS.

HEAVY RAINFALL WILL ACCOMPANY THESE STORMS...WITH RAINFALL RATES OF
2 TO 3 INCHES AN HOUR POSSIBLE. HEAVY RAINFALL MAY REDUCE
VISIBILITY BELOW A MILE AND CAUSE PONDING OF WATER ON ROADWAYS.

Posted by Frank Roylance at 5:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
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Yesterday's thunderstorms caused widespread damage across the region, including the destruction by fire of one of Baltimore's oldest and most lovely churches.

The 130-year-old Mount Vernon United Methodist Church, in Hampden, was consumed by fire after it was apprently struck by lightning during the storm. In c ase you missed it, here's this morning's story in The Sun.

Elsewhere, high winds snapped or uprooted trees, and sent them toppling on utility lines, cars and structures. There was roof damage, blocked roads, and golf-ball-sized hail in some spots.

We recorded almost a half-inch of rain out on the WeatherDeck in Cockeysville. BWI had about the same from an early-morning storm on Saturday, but almost nothing from the afternoon rains. Here at Calvert & Centre streets, our instruments clocked 0.85 inch from the earlier storm, and an evening rain, but nothing in the afternoon.

It looks like sunny and continued hot weather until late Tuesday, then more showers and thunderstorms until the weekend.

Posted by Frank Roylance at 9:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Storm reports