Weather Observer

True to the weatherman's word, the snow tapered off Saturday morning. The Tri-State area was left with up to 10 inches of snow and ice after the double whammy when a nor'easter in the making followed a weaker storm system through the area. Washington County's forecast didn't call for more precipitation until Wednesday and that would be rain, said Trina Heiser with the National Weather Service. The wind chill overnight was expected to be from 5 below zero to 5 above, Heiser said.

The Tri-State area was soaked with a few inches of rain during Hurricane Isabel, which is about what was forecast, a National Weather Service meteorologist said Friday. Western Maryland reported receiving about 2 to 6 inches of rain, slightly more than the up to 5 inches of rain reported in the Baltimore and Washington areas, said meteorologist Melody Pachethe of the Sterling, Va., office of the National Weather Service. Hagerstown received 2.9 inches of rain: 1.61 on Thursday and 1.29 on Friday, according to weather observer Greg Keefer's Web site.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - In two days, much of Franklin County received more rain than it would normally receive in a month, according to the National Weather Service. Meteorological technician Tony Mach said a weather observer in Upper Strasburg, Pa., reported 5.17 inches of rain fell Friday and Saturday. Another observer in South Mountain, Pa., called in to report rainfall of 4.4 inches. Weather service meteorologist Joe Villani said the average rainfall for the Harrisburg, Pa., area in October is 3.06 inches and that the figure for Franklin County would be comparable.

Cars along Memorial Boulevard in Hagerstown drove through standing water Wednesday afternoon as rain fell again in the Tri-State area. As of 6:05 a.m. Thursday, 1.5 inches of rain had fallen in Hagerstown since Wednesday morning, according to weather observer Greg Keefer's Web site. More rain was expected later Thursday morning, with cloudy skies forecast for the afternoon. Highs in the low 70s are expected. A flash flood advisory for the area was canceled at 4 a.m. Thursday.

julieg@herald-mail.com BOONSBORO - Terry Sholty was using the computer in his home south of Hagerstown on Sept. 17 when his wife, Susie, heard a warning on the news about a tornado coming toward Boonsboro. Being from Indiana, Sholty knew how bad tornadoes could be and his wife is "kind of an alarmist," he said, so the couple headed to the basement of their Bettys Avenue home. Boonsboro weather observer Barbara Snook also wanted to head to the basement when she and her husband, Carl, saw a funnel cloud drop from a big, dark cloud or wall cloud that day, Carl Snook said.

Records: Let it snow... Snowfall records according to Greg Keefer, weather observer in Hagerstown since 1970. Largest snowfall from one storm: 34.9 inches fell in 33 hours on Jan. 7 and 8, 1996 Earliest: Oct. 10, 1979, 0.1 inches Latest: April 28, 1928, 3.5 inches Snowiest winter, since 1898: 1960-61, 74 inches Amount of snow, in inches, since 1994-95 1994-95 - 14.9 1995-96 - 68.8 1996-97 -...

Snow that started falling late Friday morning has caused a few minor accidents on Washington County roadways. A Washington County Emergency Services dispatcher said one of those accidents involved a minor collision between a vehicle and a snow plow at about 10:20 a.m. on Burnside Road near Sharpsburg. Washington County Sheriff Douglas W. Mullendore said motorists should be careful because there are still icy patches on many streets, especially those that aren’t traveled heavily.

By KERRY LYNN FRALEY Staff Writer Rainfall for the first six months of 1997 has been below normal.    1997  Average  1996  January  2.21"  2.54"  7.71"  February  1.67"  2.46"  1.85"  March  5.68"  3.05"  4.44"  April  1.48"  3.17"  3.33"  May ...

A brief snow shower Thursday night led to a series of traffic accidents across Washington County. Maryland State Police reported a number of accidents along Interstate 70 and Interstate 81, though officers said they did not have time to talk about any of the incidents late Thursday. A Washington County 911 Center dispatcher said there were several crashes on I-70 and at least one accident on Dual Highway. The dispatcher said dispatchers were "extremely busy" before disconnecting the telephone call.

TRI-STATE karenh@herald-mail.com Motorists and adults armed with shovels might have viewed the weekend storm with groans, but for children at Fairgrounds Park, the crunch and slickness of the season's first significant snowfall were greeted with squeals. An adult scraping a heavy blanket of white from his pickup truck was more philosophical. "Anything the Lord sees fit to do is no pain to me," David Weaver, 68, said Sunday as he pushed snow off his pickup truck on a side street near Fairgrounds Park.

The unexpected snowfall that canceled Saturday's Alsatia Mummers Parade in Hagerstown broke new ground. It was the most snow Hagerstown has had in an October storm or for a month of October, going back more than 100 years. Saturday's storm resulted in 3.7 inches of snow in Hagerstown, according to weather observer Greg Keefer's website, i4weather.net . The previous record was 2.8 inches on Oct. 30, 1925, the website reported. The website's records go back to 1898.

Snow that started falling late Friday morning has caused a few minor accidents on Washington County roadways. A Washington County Emergency Services dispatcher said one of those accidents involved a minor collision between a vehicle and a snow plow at about 10:20 a.m. on Burnside Road near Sharpsburg. Washington County Sheriff Douglas W. Mullendore said motorists should be careful because there are still icy patches on many streets, especially those that aren’t traveled heavily.

Cars along Memorial Boulevard in Hagerstown drove through standing water Wednesday afternoon as rain fell again in the Tri-State area. As of 6:05 a.m. Thursday, 1.5 inches of rain had fallen in Hagerstown since Wednesday morning, according to weather observer Greg Keefer's Web site. More rain was expected later Thursday morning, with cloudy skies forecast for the afternoon. Highs in the low 70s are expected. A flash flood advisory for the area was canceled at 4 a.m. Thursday.

HAGERSTOWN ? Temperatures dipped into the single digits just before dawn Monday on one of the coldest days this winter, and more wintry weather is on the way, local forecasters say. Hagerstown weather observer Greg Keefer recorded a low of 9.5 degrees Fahrenheit at 6:44 a.m. Monday, the lowest temperature recorded in 2008. The wind chill at 5 a.m. was a bone-numbing 1 degree, according to Keefer's Web site at i4weather.net. Still, the temperature didn't come close to breaking any records for the date.

TRI-STATE - In two rain-soaked days, the skies have dumped more precipitation on Hagers- town than the city saw in the entire month of July, bringing much-needed relief after months of drought-like conditions, local weather experts said. Meanwhile, in Franklin County, Pa., a countywide burn ban was lifted Tuesday. The Hagerstown weather station maintained by weather observer Greg Keefer recorded 1.25 inches of rain Monday and measured an additional 1.22 inches by Tuesday evening, helping to bring the total for the month well beyond the average 3.32 inches.

A recent stretch of 90-degree days is expected to continue this week before the hot weather tapers, two weather organizations said Sunday. Rain also is possible, moistening a region that experienced a dry July. The local forecast for today calls for a high temperature in the low 90s, National Weather Service spokeswoman Jackie Hale said. The temperature is expected to reach the mid-90s Tuesday and Wednesday, when the heat index could make it feel like the temperature is about 105, she said.

The wintry mix that accumulated Wednesday in the Tri-State area proved challenging for road crews, which in many cases had to adjust their typical plan of attack. "It's a different snow, a very different snow," Waynesboro (Pa.) Borough Manager Lloyd Hamberger said. Crews in his municipality actually stopped plowing snow overnight when they realized that by clearing roads, ice was able to freeze on the pavement's surface. Instead, officials opted to have ice accumulate on top of snow, so plows then could grab onto the snow for removal of the mix. The method led to many complaints from residents, but it was necessary because plows cannot move ice, Hamberger said.

TRI-STATE - Schools were closed or let out early, disaster proclamations were issued and emergency management officials were preparing for flash flooding, but the Tri-State area as of Friday night had been spared of any serious consequences as the remnants of Tropical Storm Ernesto moved into the area. "We don't have any reports of floods. Most of the rain has moved to the east, and the Panhandle will be in good shape," said Jimmy Gianato, director of the West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

TRI-STATE karenh@herald-mail.com Motorists and adults armed with shovels might have viewed the weekend storm with groans, but for children at Fairgrounds Park, the crunch and slickness of the season's first significant snowfall were greeted with squeals. An adult scraping a heavy blanket of white from his pickup truck was more philosophical. "Anything the Lord sees fit to do is no pain to me," David Weaver, 68, said Sunday as he pushed snow off his pickup truck on a side street near Fairgrounds Park.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - In two days, much of Franklin County received more rain than it would normally receive in a month, according to the National Weather Service. Meteorological technician Tony Mach said a weather observer in Upper Strasburg, Pa., reported 5.17 inches of rain fell Friday and Saturday. Another observer in South Mountain, Pa., called in to report rainfall of 4.4 inches. Weather service meteorologist Joe Villani said the average rainfall for the Harrisburg, Pa., area in October is 3.06 inches and that the figure for Franklin County would be comparable.