The snowfall that lasted much of the day did beat expectations on some ends, but came in with a near tie to our big Saturday February 21st event in Baltimore. This time the report at BWI was 6.2″, which still verified my original and final forecast (both maps at the bottom of this post. It also set the March 5th record for snowfall, breaking the old mark of 4.0″. This storm made for our second event over 6 inches, and 12th measurable snowfall date. We have had 8 days with 1 inch or more, which is above the average of 5.8 days.
Overall this did verify with my original forecast of 6 inches or more, but refining my final call actually lowered my score. I cut back to 5 inches on the low end to account for a later change over in the morning and fighting the March sun angle and had the high end of 8 inches. That did cover some lower reports and fit the average of 7 inch reports, However, I underestimated the top zone between Frederick and Carroll Counties into southern Pennsylvania where many places reported between 8 to 11 inches. A true over achiever! Also, my attempt to plot the bulls eye centered around US 50 missed the mark in Anne Arundel County, but worked for Montgomery County. As for Southern Maryland, the final totals are not complete as of this report, so look for a follow up and comparison.
Below are close up county snow spotter reports from the National Weather Service in the slide show. Compare to my final and first call maps. I give my forecast overall a B, accounting for time of change over and impact as well. The entire list of the Baltimore/Washington region is below. This forecast office does not include Delmarva or southern PA.
Final Snowcast and First Call Snowcast Maps: Click for larger view
Snow Spotter Reports from NWS
Note: Some of these were NOT at the end of the storm, so not complete. But they match the maps in the slide shows.
Keep in touch via social media
Facebook: Justin Berk, Meteorologist
Twitter: @JustinWeather
Instagram: justinweather
Pinterest: justinweather
Since Facebook does not share all of my posts on all news feeds, please sign up for emails when I make a new post here. Use the quick form on the upper right corner of this page.
Get the award winning Kid Weather App I made with my oldest son and support our love for science, weather, technology. Our 2 year anniversary of the release was this past November and it has been downloaded in 55 countries. With your support we can expand on the fun introduction to science and real weather.
Faith in the Flakes
Get the shirt! This is the new design that will be printed. I apologize for not updating the images in the store yet.
See more about the styles and other prints here.
Other Posts You Might Like:
My Winter Outlook 2015
Baltimore Winters Snowfall Charts by decades
New NWS Winter Zones Benefits Some Maryland Counties
NOAA Winter Outlook leaves a lot of possibilities open
Baltimore Bill weather prediction crab 2014 fall and winter outlook
Weather Folklore: A Lot of stuff about winter
Beware of bogus blogs about winter
Summer without a summer filled with weather record