So, I'm back from vacation. Did I miss anything?
Just kidding. I'm looking at the stats for the week, and it seems you had a spot of rain and a bit of a roller-coaster ride on the temperatures, while I was away.
But after today (Friday), it looks as though we may get an extended break from the 90s, as you might expect at the end of August. But we're also due for some more rain, especially on Sunday. So plan to cut the grass on Saturday.
First the numbers: AT BWI-Marshall, the National Weather Service recorded nearly 2.5 inches of rain during the heavy storms on the 12th and 13th. Another inch or more fell at the airport this week, bringing the total for August to 4.35 inches. The average for August in Baltimore is just 3.74 inches. And we still have more than a week to go.
Some places saw much more rain than that. Here at The Sun, we recorded 3.36 inches of rain on the 12th. Wish I could have been here to see that ... Nah! Actually, we're dealing with the effects of the rain, I suspect, at home. We had a little sink-hole open up beside the front steps to the WeatherDeck in Cockeysville. Still pouring rocks in, wondering how many it can swallow.
The bell-ringers that day appear to have been Mt. Airy, with 6.30 inches; Hamilton, in Baltimore City, with 5.02 inches, and Marlton, in Calvert, with 4.96 inches, according to the CoCoRaHS network. The smallest amount was in Rockville, still a respectable. 1.85 inches.
Temperatures for the month are now averaging 78.6 degrees, which is 3.3 degrees above the average for the month so far. If that holds (not likely) it would be the warmest August since 1995.
I say "not likely" because the forecast calls for highs in the mid-80s from Sunday well into next week. That's still slightly above the average for Baltimore at this time of year. But it's low enough to drag down the average as we near the end of the month.
On Sunday, we're looking for the chances of showers and storms to rise again as a high pressure moves off the coast. That will draw moisture in off the Atlantic, and lift the humidity readings later on Saturday and into Sunday. Then, as a cold front approaches from the northwest, we'll see rain and storm chances rise into the 40 percent range. Cooler weather will follow behind the front.
It was interesting to note that BWI failed to break 80 degrees twice while I was away - on the 13th and 15th, topping out at 79 and 77 degrees, respectively. It was the first time that's happened since June 9. As we get farther from the solstice, the sun gets lower, and the hours of daylight diminish, it's a trend that might be interrupted, but can't be stopped.
Summer is on the wane. Sorry, kids. Teachers are preparing their classrooms, even as we speak. Well, I know one who is, anyway.
The count of 90-plus days at BWI-Marshall this year now stands at 48 through Thursday. We may add one more day today; it's 86 degrees at BWI as I write this. We've already reached 90 at The Sun. The record for Baltimore is 54 days, set in 1988.
UPDATE 4:30 p.m.: Instruments at BWI recorded 90 degrees Friday, pushing the total this year to 49 days, just five short of the record.
(SUN PHOTOS: Top: Jed Kirschbaum; Bottom: Barbara Haddock Taylor)