2003 WEATHER SUMMARY
· PRECIPITATION - It was the wettest year on record at this station. (23-years
of records) The total precipitation for the year was 66.01 inches a departure of +22.59 inches. The old record was 58.35
inches set in 1996. It also broke the record at Dulles and BWI and
Washington DCA had most precipitation on record since 1889. (114 years)
· WIND - New 23-year maximum wind speed records for three consecutive
months. September 41 mph., October 48 mph. and November 56 mph the second
highest wind ever recorded at this station.
· THUNDER - 2003
started out on day one with a bang as we observed lightning and thunder heard
about 1620. I never remember having heard thunder on New Years Day before.
Thunder was recorded on 46 days during the year.
· SNOW - February
snowfall of 30.9 inches makes February the snowiest on record here in the last
23-years. This was 25.3 inches more than the 23-year average for February which
is only 5.6 inches. The old record was 23.2 inches in 1982-83.
· TEMPERATURE Four
months and three consecutive months that had or
nearly had 23-year record LOW maximum temperatures for
the month. Coolest April day was 40°F on the 8th. (Old record was
41°F in 1982). Coolest May day was 51°F
on the 17th. (Old record was 51°F in 1995 & 1996). Coolest June day was 58°F on the 4th.
(Only 2°F from the record of 56°F in1997).
Coolest October day was 40°F on the 30th. (Old record was 41°F in 1979 on the date of
our earliest measurable snow).
· EARTHQUAKE On December 9th at
1600 a magnitude 4.5 earthquake occurred 30 miles west of
The average mean temperature for 2003
was 54.8 °F which was the lowest
since 1996 when the average yearly mean temperature was 53.8 °F.
Highest
maximum temperature 94°F was recorded
on July 5th. This is the lowest maximum for
the year since 1989 when 94°F occurred and is also the first time since 1989 we
have gone without a 95°F day here for the year.
Lowest minimum temperature was 7°F on January 18th (the lowest recorded
minimum for year since 1997). But the coldest day was January 23, 2003 with a
daily mean temperature of 15.0 and was also averaged windiest day of the year
with a 208 mile wind run although the maximum gust was only 33mph at 2021. This day also had the lowest wind chill of
-5.6°F and the lowest dew point of -10.8 °F.
The coldest day we have had in the last six years.
There were 14 days that were equal to
or greater than 90°F for the maximum temperature. This year had the least >= 90°F days on
record since 1992. The average is 30 days.
There were 95 days which were less
than or equal to 32°F for the minimum temperature. This year had the most <= 32°F days since
1996 which had 97 days. The average
is 84 days.
MONTH
January was the coldest month of the
year and was the coldest January since 1994 and had the greatest number of days
with a minimum temperature of 32°F or less. (27days). The month of February however
had the greatest negative average monthly mean temperature departure of negative
5.4° F and the coldest February
since 1995.
The month of November had the greatest
positive average monthly mean temperature departure of +4.5° F.
RANGE
The 35°F temperature range on April 15th and November 21st
was the greatest daily temperature ranges for the year.
The 2°F temperature range on June 4th was the lowest daily
temperature range for the year. This also holds the 23-year record for the
lowest temperature range ever to occur in June. It was a rare record for June as
low temperature ranges generally occur during the winter months.
YEAR
The total number of days this year with
measurable precipitation was 157
days which sets a new 23-year record; the old record was only 135 days in 1989.
Total precipitation measured 66.01 inches, a departure of +22.59 inches. The year was above average in precipitation for
every month except for January and April. At the end of 2002 the deficit of precipitation was -6.03 inches and
with 2001 deficit of -7.84 inches for a total of -13.87 inches, any
deficit has been well restored this year.
MONTH
The greatest number of days with measurable
precipitation in one month was 23 days
in May.
This
is not only a record for May but for any month; the old 23-year record was 19 days in June in 1989.
February had the greatest monthly total
rainfall: 8.19 inches, a +5.35 inch
departure. February was not only the wettest February on record but among the
wettest of all months. Only seven months have been wetter in the last 277
months. (23 years +Jan.03) This was also
the wettest winter season on record (Dec.-Feb.) in the last 23-years of records.
January had the least monthly total
rainfall: 3.06 inches but only a 0.35
inch departure.
CALENDAR DAY
The greatest calendar day rainfall for
the year was 2.78 inches which
occurred on February 22nd. This maximum calendar day rainfall set a
new 23-year record for date and for the month of January. It was also the most
rain in a calendar day for any month since
24 HOUR PERIOD
The 3.31 inches of rain from the 22nd
to the 23rd was the most precipitation to fall in a 24-hour period
since hurricane Floyd
HOUR
The greatest one-hour rainfall 1.66 inches recorded on September 23
rd was the second most intense one hour
rainfall ever recorded in September and the third greatest one hour rainfall
ever recorded for any month. (Rain intensity records since 1990)
The greatest five-minute rainfall was 0.36 inches which fell on July 9th, the most intense since September of 2000 when 0.47
inches occurred in five minutes. This is also the eighth most intense five
minute rainfall since these records were started in 1990. (The record is 0.58 inches).
YEAR
The years total snowfall at this
station was 49.9 inches that was a
departure of +29.5 inches.
This is the third greatest snowfall
ever recorded for a calendar year in the last 23 years and the most since 1996.
MONTH
February had the greatest monthly
snowfall total for the year with 30.9
inches and makes February the snowiest on record
here in the last 23 years and the second greatest for any month in the last
23-years. This was 25.3 inches more than the 23-year average for
February which is 5.6 inches. The old record was 23.2 inches in
1982-83.
STORM
The largest snowstorm of the year was 16.4 inches on February 15th-18th
over a 54.25 hour period. This was the 5th largest
snowstorm here in the last 23 years. This is the most snow in one storm since
January 6-8 of 1996 when 18.1 inches was recorded.
The greatest calendar day snowfall was 13.0
inches observed on
The greatest snowfall on the ground at
any one time was 17.0 inches on February 16th.
YEAR
The highest wind was recorded on November 13th with a gust to 56 mph at 1156 associated
with a low pressure passing to our north.
This was not only the highest wind ever recorded here in 2003 but
was also the highest wind recorded in November in the last 23 years. We set 23-year maximum wind records for three
consecutive months: September, October, and November. Isabel was responsible for the September
record with 41 mph wind. Isabel caused more damage because of the long duration
of wind and due to rain laden leaves.
MONTH
The windiest month of 2003 was January with a total wind run of 2,278 miles.
DAY
The windiest day was
YEAR
November 9th had the year's highest
barometric pressure reading of 30.71
inches. This was
the highest barometer recorded in
November since 1996 and the highest for any month since December 2000.
January 9th had the year's lowest barometric pressure, of 29.16 inches; that was
the lowest recorded since
MONTH
May was the cloudiest and dampest
May on record in the last 23 years. But
it was even more than this; it was the
second cloudiest and had more days of rain than ANY of the months in the last
23 years. Only November 1986 was
cloudier and only by a small margin.
The clearest month was December which was only a little
clearer than average but was the clearest month of 2003 as many months were much
above the average in cloudiness particularly February and May.