Intriguing Virga! No Snow- No Shave.

This was the radar image at 5pm Friday. At first I was surprised by the cloud line on my way home in the afternoon. There was no vort max and it wasn't lake enhanced banding. If anything, we were shifting the ridge axis. Nonetheless, I saw a distinct cloud line in northern B'more County, and even mamatus near the PA line. Those clouds are most often with severe weather, but essentially occur when cold pockets create bulging at a cloud base.

These pics show the transformation of these bulges a few hours later. It tricked the radar into showing snow. My wife and neighbors thought they looked like tiny tornadoes. Again, this extension of the cloud under the base is what the radar interpreted as snow. Fascinating. This formation lasted for nearly two hours, as the line moved very slowly across the PA/MD state line. Either way, I am just baffled. If you have a good explanation- please let me know.

No snow, no shave. I thought I would mention again that I made a pact on TV not to shave until BWI gets 2 inches of snow. People at work thought it was a neat idea, and I got a few emails about it too. Basically, I was bored and just wanted to do something to pass the time- and an excuse to rest my razor. The kids wear their PJs inside out and put spoons under their pillows the night before a storm, why not try something different. The station decided to take a picture every day to put in a slide show and follow the transformation. I hope we get the snow before the beard is 2 inches long. :-)
In the short term, a chance of some light showers will move in overnight and early Sunday. I did not think it had a chance, but now have to at least include it with my forecast on WCBM this weekend. There might even be some freezing rain just north. Don't worry- this is just the leading edge of our expected warm up next week. We could be in the 60s as early as Monday.