2012 will rank among the top five warmest years on record in Baltimore, and it was memorable for many other weather events -- from a mild winter to tornadoes to a "derecho" to Superstorm Sandy.
Here are some highlights:
- Extremes included a 13-degree low Jan. 4, 104-degree highs July 7 and July 18, and 5.51 inches of rain Oct. 29.
- Seventy-three days reached below freezing, 45 days surpassed 90 degrees, and one of each was in April, on the 3rd and 16th, respectively.
- Contributing to the year's high ranking among warm years were several warmer-than-normal seasons, starting with a winter that saw the smallest snowfall in three decades and a spring that was the warmest on record.
- For the nation as a whole, 2012 is assured to be the warmest year on record.
- Maryland emerged from a drought that is still gripping much of the nation's midsection, but is still short of normal annual precipitation. Through Dec. 28, about 37 inches of rain and 2.8 inches of snow had fallen in 2012 at BWI Marshall Airport, short of the norms of about 43 inches of rain and about 20 inches of snow.
- March 6: Ocean City marks the 50th anniversary of what became known as the "Ash Wednesday Storm," which is thought to be largely responsible for the ultimate development of the town's towering condo buildings and the preservation of Assateague Island.
- June 1: Severe storms passing through the region spawn a flurry of tornado warnings, with a dozen cyclones ultimately confirmed.
- June 29: A deadly and powerful thunderstorm with 70 mph straight-line winds passes through Maryland, paralyzing the region for days with power outages lasting a week or more. The storm, we later learned, was known as a derecho and took even meteorologists by surprise, though it wasn't the first derecho to strike Maryland.
- Oct. 29: Hurricane Sandy bore down on Maryland and the rest of the mid-Atlantic coast. The storm pounded Ocean City, though the town fared better than neighbors to the north in New Jersey. Otherwise, the hurricane season included Isaac's hit of the Gulf Coast and the long-lasting Nadine.
What do you think 2013 will bring?
Have a weather question? E-mail me at sdance@baltsun.com or tweet to @MdWeather.
