NC
State Forecast:
“Nothing like a good old Snively Family Feud”
Chief D-7 Meteorologist Bob Wevodau
THE INTRO:
Let me just say it really sucks to do a forecast for a tailgate that you are going to miss. And to make matters worse, this isn’t just any tailgate, it’s Homecoming! And to make that matter worse, it isn’t just homecoming, it’s the NC State game. Oh well, I will solider on and do my duty regardless.
The implications for this game are huge. I had this down as a “W” based on the way the Pack has been playing, but their win over BC is making me second guess myself. Once again we arrive at another “Fork in the Road” game. We win, we move on to bigger and better things, we lose and well I think our chances of making a post season appearance are just about nil. But all things considered, playing at home, playing on Homecoming, no Bob in the stands, those factors all add up to what appears to be a victory for the Terps. Regardless of what happens on the field, I am anticipating this to be the best tailgate of the year, even better than FSU and Miami. This is as close to a rivalry game as we have and it is always a good one when we meet the Pack. The tailgate attendance should be way up with Brian’s family in full force (I can only imagine they will all be there) and all the regulars should be back at it (sans myself). Anyway let’s look at the weather for this fiesta.
THE HISTORY:
The average high in College Park, MD for October 21st is 66 F° and the average low is 48 F°. It is officially jacket season. The record high for this date in College Park is 85 which occurred in 1947, and the record low was 30 which occurred in 1974.
THE FORECAST:
According to the Almanac we should be alright. It could certainly be a worse day for tailgating, but they are calling for Fair and windy. I like the fair part, not too crazy about the windy part, but hopefully it will keep the bees away. I think I am once again going to side with the Almanac and also call for a fair and breezy day, so here it is. The Homecoming forecast:
The forecast for the October 21, 2006 “Send Back the Pack Game” is for great football weather. Sure it will be breezy, but you’ll just have to suck it up. At least it will separate the real flip cuppers from the ones who just get lucky. I am picturing a mid afternoon game, but I don’t have anything to base that on, so I say temperatures should be in the upper 60’s with the winds making it feel slightly cooler. We’ll say a high of 69. As the sun goes down it will cool off considerably. We’ll say a low around 52, but with the winds it will feel cooler. I am not calling for any rain, only high scattered clouds. Should be a good one, let’s just hope it’s a good one on the field as well.
Again, no poncho or sunscreen warnings or advisories this weekend, maybe a jacket warning, but at this time of the year, if you can’t figure that out, I can’t help you.
The game day sunrise in College Park, MD on October 21st is for 7:23 am. The sunset is scheduled for 6:21 pm. We are getting closer to daylight savings time, so enjoy the late sun sets while they last. As for the moon, FORGET ABOUT IT! I’m not even going to post rises and sets for it since it will be completely new with Zippy illumination. I believe this is twice so far this year we have played on a new moon.
THE SNOW REPORT:
I don’t know what to think. Under snowfall for this date in College Park the weather page has 0.00 then (2002) in parenthesis which makes me think we may have received a trace amount of snow on this date. It is certainly not out of the question, I remember seeing flurries in October before (though rare), but to play it safe I am going to list the chance of snow for this date as .5% again. Don’t worry though, the BC game is not far off and this section will be much more action packed then (Look out if we ever go to the Boise Bowl!).
Look here for further updates, as we get closer to game day.
THE CHARITY PLEA:
Don’t forget to save your loose change and stray bills to donate to our “Save the Terrapin” fund. Remember with every $15 we raise we can save/adopt one terrapin through the Terrapin Institute, which will be saved (by being tagged) from commercial harvest. All “STT” progress will be monitored on the website.
We are still at $115, but I am looking for the NC State to put us over our goal. Whatever we earn in the remaining tailgates is just icing on the Terrapin cake, and though we are nearing our goal, there are still Terrapins out there that are hoping we can save them as well, so don’t stop giving!
Look here for further updates, as we get closer to game day.
THE X-FACTOR:
Just to show you some extremes that could happen and have happened on this particular date in weather history.
- 1934 - A severe windstorm lashed the northern Pacific coast. In Washington State, the storm claimed the lives of 22 persons, and caused 1.7 million dollars damage, mostly to timber. Winds, gusting to 87 mph at North Head WA, produced waves twenty feet high. (David Ludlum)
- 1957 - The second in a series of unusual October storms hit southern California causing widespread thunderstorms. Santa Maria was drenched with 1.13 inches of rain in two hours. Hail drifted to 18 inches in East Los Angeles. Waterspouts were sighted off Point Mugu and Oceanside. (20th-21st) (The Weather Channel)
- 1987 - Cold arctic air continued to invade the central U.S. Eleven record lows were reported in the Great Plains Region, including lows of 12 degrees at Valentine NE, and 9 degrees at Aberdeen SD. Temperatures warmed rapidly during the day in the Southern and Central Plains Region. Goodland KS warmed from a morning low of 24 degrees to an afternoon high of 75 degrees. (The National Weather Summary)
- 1988 - Joan, the last hurricane of the season, neared the coast of Nicaragua packing 125 mph winds. Joan claimed more than 200 lives as she moved over Central America, and total damage approached 1.5 billion dollars. Crossing more than 40 degrees of longitude, Hurricane Joan never strayed even one degree from the 12 degree north parallel. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
- 1989 - Unseasonably cold weather continued to grip the south central and southeastern U.S. Twenty cities reported record low temperatures for the date, including Calico AR with a reading of 26 degrees, and Daytona Beach FL with a low of 41 degrees. Squalls in the Great Lakes Region finally came to an end, but not before leaving Marquette MI buried under 12.7 inches of snow, a record 24 hour total for October. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
***This is a disclaimer to remove all responsibility on myself if this forecast is wrong. Being that it is very difficult to predict the weather greater than 48 hours in advance, the odds of needing this disclaimer are about 100%. However I do believe this forecast will be pretty close to what we can actually look to expect.