Rain

C.J. Elwood and Matt Lowenhaupt each scored a goal as Clear Spring shut out Boonsboro 2-0 on Thursday night in an MVAL Antietam boys soccer match that was shortened by a persistent rain. The game officials stopped the match with about 15 minutes remaining in the second half after deeming the field unfit for play. “It was miserable there for a while, but we all agreed to stop playing,” said Clear Spring coach Lynn Mills, whose team improved to 12-2-1 overall and 5-1-1 in the Antietam.

HAGERSTOWN - Rain canceled the opening ceremony of Hagerstown's Fourth of July celebration at Fairgrounds Park, but by 6:30 p.m. a band was playing the blues despite a steady drizzle. The fireworks display began at about 10:30 - an hour later than scheduled. Early Friday evening, only a dozen gathered for the music at first. Several boys danced in the rain, playing air guitar and pounding out the band's rhythms with their fists. But as the rain cleared, a steady crowd filled the area in front of Friday night's band, Jumptown.

scottb@herald-mail.com Rain, rain and more rain this spring has begun causing problems on some Washington County roads and at wastewater treatment plants, government officials said Wednesday. As a result of recent heavy rain, wastewater left both City of Hagerstown and Washington County treatment plants without being completely treated, Laurie Bucher, the Health Department's director of environmental health, said Wednesday. Bucher said three problems involving water and sewer systems were reported this week, with each occurring because recent rainfall sent more water than usual through the systems: About 1 million gallons of diluted wastewater left the Conococheague Waste Water Treatment Plant only partially treated, Bucher said.

Rain, rain didn't go away. Neither did the Augusta GreenJackets. The GreenJackets fared well in foul weather, capitalizing on nearly every opportunity for an 8-1 victory over the Hagerstown Suns during a Tuesday morning matinee before 1,842 Education Day fans shortened to 6 1/2 innings by inclement weather. The GreenJackets (14-16) earned a split in the four-game series by scoring six of their eight runs after a steady rain began to fall. The game was halted before the Suns batted in the seventh.

New Year's Eve revelers will need to be cautious on the drive home after singing "Auld Lang Syne. " Periods of rain are expected Sunday, according to AccuWeather meteorologists. The day should start out sunny, but clouds and showers will move in throughout the day, and New Year's Eve night will be a wet one, an AccuWeather meteorologist said. The high temperature on Sunday is expected to be in the mid-40s. New Year's Day will begin cloudy and rainy, but showers should taper off throughout the day. Monday's high temperature is expected to be in the 50s. Last year, New Year's Eve was mild and dry, and the high temperature was 45 degrees, according to i4weather.

Saturday's rainfall made May the wettest May on record for Hagerstown, according to local weather observer Greg Keefer's Web site. As of 10:25 p.m. Saturday, 8.21 inches of precipitation fell in May, according to i4weather.net. The previous record was 8.09 inches in May 1989. Keefer's records go back to 1898.

GREENSBORO, N.C. - The Hagerstown Suns will have to work overtime to complete the 2003 season. The Suns will face Greensboro in a season-ending doubleheader today beginning at noon after Sunday's game was rained out in the top of the third inning. The scoreless tie will resume at noon in the completion of a nine-inning game. The nightcap, the final game of the season, will be seven innings. Hagerstown was eliminated from playoff contention on Saturday in a 4-2 loss to the Bats.

erinc@herald-mail.com The Tri-State area felt more like southern Florida as the region braced for expected thunderstorms that were to begin late Tuesday evening and end today. "It is really humid, which makes sense," accuweather.com meteorologist Dave Dombek said. "You have a tropical storm passing by. " While the center of Hurricane Katrina was anticipated to pass to the north and west of Washington County, there was the potential for heavy rainfall, Dombek said.

o For updated weather forecasts, road conditions and school closures or delays, go to The Herald-Mail Accuweather Hagerstown-area residents might awaken Christmas morning to a thin layer of ice covering local roads and the remnants of last weekend's snowstorm. The National Weather Service forecast predicts freezing rain Friday morning. The forecast said the freezing rain would begin after 4 a.m. Friday, then change to rain after 1 p.m. Ice accumulation of one-tenth to two-tenths of an inch is possible, the forecast said.

All the dry weather we've been having has brought up the question of cloud seeding. So at the suggestion of a reader, I did a little research. I must admit that with cloud seeding, you either believe it occurs or it is in the category of Big Foot and UFOs. My research surprised me. I was always led to believe that clouds were seeded in order to disperse the rain. I know most people hold to that belief, but my research found that cloud seeding was developed to increase precipitation and reduce hail, not disperse the clouds.