Never a Dull Moment

Yesterday the temperature reached 82F at BWI. In the 80s for a second day in a row, and all I could hear was how great it was. From golf to yard work- well I think the golf was the great part. It was a beautiful day, and I'm a cold weather guy. The surge of warm air was not a surprise, and still not a record. It is quite common to have a few warm spells in the fall, and the warmer spells will be balanced out by a dramatic cool down this weekend. But don't complain... first, we've had a good stretch of good weekends. Secondly, when you consider what has been happening across the country (and beyond), we've been pretty lucky.
Here you can see the highlights across the country (map coming soon):

FIRE: There were 2 wild fires that remained unchecked outside of LA yesterday. Fueled by the warm dry Santa Anna winds- so far a total of 49 structures have burned.

SNOW: A storm in the Rockies in the past week has helped 2 Ski Resorts open today in Colorado. Loveland Ski Area announced this morning that it will open for the season at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday. Arapahoe Basin, which originally planned a 9 a.m. opening Wednesday, switched it today to 8:30 a.m. after Loveland's plans were announced. It's like gas stations battling across the street from each other. More can be found here.

Warm and Quiet: That is the story from Maryland to Mississippi. That's where temperatures were averaging the low 80s.

Hurricane OMAR! This was upgraded overnight. As if it wasn't bad enough that Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands had a 6.1 earthquake last weekend, they are bracing for this Category 1 storm by this Thursday. the projection here for the weekend is moving safely farther away from the Eastern US.

Sunday Was Sweet In The Football Suite, Despite Raven's Defeat

I was lucky to get a ticket to the Classic Catering suite at M and T Bank Stadium yesterday. This view from the 10 yard line was on the south facing side of the stadium. It's been a while since I spent a few hours in one stretch outside... and it was hot! Although we only hit 73F in the afternoon, the sun made it feel more like the mid 80s and the seats were burning. Poor me, right? What's interesting is that lower sun angle in the fall can make it feel warming on your skin. It all depends on the angle the sun hits you. In the summer, with the sun almost directly overhead, you would feel the sun on your head, or as you lay down by the pool. In the fall, just sitting down, lets that sun focus it's rays on your face, arms, and chair at the game (if your on the visitors side of M and T Bank). By now you know the result of the game, and that took some of the enjoyment out of the air.
Some. A more dramatic change is on the way, as overnight temperatures could dip into the 30s (outside the beltway) Tuesday and Wednesday morning..
A Frost Advisory has been posted for the Pennsylvania Counties just to our north



That cold air should help accelerate the turning of the leaves. Before we get out chance to leaf peep, images from across the country are already pouring in.
One spot I am still waiting to visit, is Aspen Colorado. The unique thing about this place, is that the leaves all seem to turn the same color at the same time. This provides a layering of colors that would make Bob Ross happy. This actually looks like one of his pictures.

Oh, but wait, there's more. This morning I rediscovered our "photo's" section on our StormCenter Weathernet. In addition to thousands of neighborhood temperatures from across the country, we get pictures as well. Here is my favorite this morning. I will share more each day this month. If we're lucky, we'll have some snow mixed in by then...

Fog Video Coastal Storm

I can't believe I went all day with video posted that did not work. For some reason, You Tube does not like the computer model video I showed, so today I will just post the link. Before you check out today's video below- please help me out with the poll on the right. I know some of you have problems playing video on your work computers. This may help me with more posts in the future...
Below is video I recorded over Loch Raven Reservoir when I was working in 'News Chopper 11" back in the fall of 1998. It was a common scene in around sunrise, but I only took video this morning. In retrospect I wish I had done more.
This is Steam Fog that is pretty common in the fall with longer cooler nights, and water that is relatively warm.


To answer the question from yesterday: No, I do not think we can rule out another 80F day. We hit 79F Sunday and Monday. The normal high is in the mid 70s, so a bump a few extra degrees should not be that hard. Also, fall around these parts is a gradual change with give and take. Almost like a marriage with early compromise, until one spouse dominates. No, not in my house, but I digress. These cool snaps are part of the give and take. Often when it gets cool too fast, the reverse will balance out within a week or two. Consider this past September: The 6th was wet with a high of 78F, but by the 13th we were back to 93F. I do believe fall is settling in early than we are use to, and winter will be here by Thanksgiving, but a few more warm days will pop up in between.

The next few days will seem like fall is in full swing. Yesterday I tried to post a movie of the Canadian Model showing a coastal low pushing into New Jersey.
This morning, the outlook is not as threatening for us, but still quite wet. The initial low will slide into North Carolina and spread rain our way by Thursday afternoon and last into the weekend. Combined with strong High Pressure in eastern Canada, we will have a steady east to north east flow keeping us int he 60s and wet. A secondary storm will form off of the coast, but instead of reaching us, it will head towards New England. Here is a link to the Penn State eWall. Slide your cursor along the top (hours are listed as (f36, f48, etc) to see the movement of the Low Pressure off of the coast work back north and west.

Fall Begins. Equinox Not Equal

At 11:44 am (Eastern) fall will officially begin. It marks the moment when the suns focus crosses the equator and slips to the southern Hemisphere for the next 6 months. The word equinox sounds a lot like 'equal', and that is how I introduced the concept to my students when I was teaching. My physics teaching in High School tried to convince the lass that the equal force of the sun's gravitational pull on the equator would allow an egg to stand on it's end. Not true! It's a demonstration I continue to see in both autumn and spring. I even did this my first year on TV. Since I could not duplicate it, I used double sided scotch tape to keep the egg upright. I have also mastered the bar trick of balancing a salt shaker on it's corner base, but that's another story for another time. Truth is though, if you have the right egg, a flat spot to sit it on... just add patience and a steady hand to do the balancing.
I was also taught that it was the day when the entire planet also had equal time of daylight and darkness as well. That is not entirely true. That's right, tomorrow being the first 'full' day of autumn will not have a longer night in time than daylight. Sure, the nights are getting longer. In fact this is the fastest change we can see in Maryland, as we are now losing 3 minutes of daylight each day. But, you have to consider that light bends. Remember that double rainbow video I posted two weeks ago? Or just think about the red and orange sky in the morning and evening. That is a demonstration of how light bends in our atmosphere, especially at dawn and dusk. So while the sun itself should be in our view for 12 hours today (splitting the time with darkness), the light of the sun bends and gives us an extra 8 minutes.
Sunrise: 6:54am Sunset 7:03pm

On Thursday, we can honestly say the night is longer than the day. Then we can focus on the beginning of the fog season. I'll have more on that tomorrow with some great video of fog from above.
On a side note:
Walgreens will now display severe weather watches and warnings along with other vital information on their electronic outdoor signs. I wonder if there will be a run on overpriced umbrellas (barely good for one use). Could be a stock pick this week....