Thank you for visiting DCstorms.com
I have lived in the Washington Area for over 20 years and have always been fascinated with the weather. I’ve taken several meteorology courses at the college level and continue to learn about the weather every day. The weather here in the National Capital Region is dynamic, changes rapidly and can be difficult to forecast. As an avid weather enthusiast I have at times been disappointed by the lack of warning given prior to significant weather events.
Examples:
“Commutageddon”, January 26, 2011
Commuters were stranded in their vehicles on snow-covered roadways during the evening rush hour on January 26, 2011; photo courtesy Jay Wescott NWS
On January 24th at 9:49 pm, I predicted that a strong upper-level low pressure system would bring heavy, wet, snow of 4 to 8″ across the DC Region
The Derecho of June 29th, 2012
At 4:34 on June 29th, I gave advanced warning well before Severe Thunderstorm Watches were issued for what became a widespread damaging wind event across the Mid-Atlantic.
The Blizzard of January 22, 2016
On January 17th at 8:36 in the morning, I posted “Who Wants 15 to 20″ of Snow later this Week?” well before anyone had put out snowfall maps.
No television meteorologist or weather blogger (including me) has a perfect track record. There are many times here in Washington when the forecast models do not agree on storm track and this poses headaches for very talented meteorologists. I have found that much of the frustration here in the Washington Area stems from weather events where meteorologists are afraid of “over-promising snowfall accumulations” for fear of being wrong. This conundrum is also known as the “politics of weather forecasting” and as we have seen has at times led to nightmare commutes on our area roadways.
The goal of DCstorms.com is to provide analysis and insight of what I am seeing in the forecast models ahead of time (when I have time to actually sit down and put out a weather post). If you have any suggestions, comments or questions about the weather or my website please drop me a line.
Pingback: The New DCstorms.com is compatible with your smart phone – DCstorms.com