Cold Air Brings Low Temps and Dewpoints; Inaugural Weather; Possible Mid-Atlantic Storm This Weekend
Several Miscellaneous Weather Notes Today:
Cold Air = Low Humidity
The cold weather in Atlanta on January 17th and 18th didn’t break the record low we saw back on December 20th, but only by 2.3 degrees. We recorded a low of 19.2 this morning at my weather station, the December record was 16.9 degrees. The low tonight is only expected to bottom out at 21, and then Wednesday and later in the week should see warmer temperatures.
One of the impacts of the cold weather has been an extremely low dewpoint - recorded at -2.3 degrees this afternoon. This is the lowest dewpoint I could find recorded by my weather station in the last three years, except for a slightly lower reading following the December cold snap last year.
Because relative humidity and dewpoint are related, we saw an outside RH of 18% — Extremely low. Unless you have a humidifier in your house, you may have had even lower humidity inside. Relative humidity measures the amount of water vapor in the air, compared to the amount of water vapor the air could hold before the vapor would condense into water droplets. Because warmer air can hold more water vapor than colder air, the cold air that seeps into your house becomes even dryer than it was outside.
Inauguration Weather
President Bush will be re-inaugurated in Washington, DC on Thursday for his second term in office. The inauguration goes on rain or shine, however some of the outdoor events have been cancelled in the past, notably President Reagan’s second inauguration, when it was 4 degrees below zero and the outdoor events were canceled.
It’s unlikely that the inauguration will be cancelled this year due to cold weather, with a Thursday morning low of around 24 degrees. However, there is a chance of some snow on Thursday afternoon for the inaugural parade. They should taper off later in the evening in time for the inaugural balls, however. Jason Samenow is calling for 50-50 odds of an inch of snow by the evening of the inauguration.
Possible Major Winter Storm This Weekend in the Mid-Atlantic
Forecasters have been buzzing about the possibility of the first major snowfall of the season in the Mid-Atlantic states this weekend. A winter storm is predicted to originate out of Minnesota, moving southward through the Ohio Valley and over to the Cape Hatteras, North Carolina area on Sunday morning. The storm would then reverse itself, and head towards the DC - Maryland area, and then up the coast, causing ocean-effect snow.
The storm is not expected to cause problems here in North Georgia, however. As the storm passes, it will be too warm to cause any more than a chance of rain. However, forecasts do change, and if the storm moves farther south, we could have trouble. Stay tuned.
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