WVU
Forecast:
“This is the last time we will ever lose to WVU”
Chief D-7 Meteorologist Bob Wevodau
(after last years debacle in Morgantown)
It’s payback time. Last year our beloved Terps played one of their worst games I had ever seen (5 Turnovers!!) and lost to the lowly Mountaineers in OT. You would have thought they had just clinched a bid to the national championship the way they celebrated. And when you looked at their Big East schedule you could understand why they were so happy. Well things didn’t pan out for WVU the way they hoped, and it is time for Maryland to remind them that we do indeed still own them (we have the receipt). I proudly boasted last year that it could be the last time we ever lose to West Virginia and I still believe that to be the case. Regardless this game has huge implications because if we beat Navy (which we should) and then beat Clemson (which we can) we will be playing to go 3-0 (which we will). Now let’s look at our forecast for September 17, 2005.
This tailgate, like the Clemson one is a noon time start. So once again set your clocks early. The average high for September 17th in College Park, MD is 79F°. The low is about 62F° so we are basically losing 2° the week between Clemson and WVU. The record high for the date is 96F° (1991) and the record low is 44F° (1923). So even the worst case scenarios for this week aren’t all THAT bad.
The Farmers Almanac is calling for rain in the Maryland and Virginia area. Wow that is pretty specific. This creates a terrible dilemma, I just don’t see any rain for us, but at the same time, if you live by the Almanac, you die by the Almanac. So in this case I am unfortunately going to have to issue a Poncho Warning. Another reason I am tore about this forecast is because if I predict rain and it doesn’t rain, my temps will be off by at least 10°. Oh well I guess that’s what updates are for. So here goes nothing:
The forecast for the September 17, 2005 “Love thy neighbor, not thy kin” game is for less than stellar football weather. The good news is that when you arrive at 6am (and I know you all will) the heavy cloud cover will keep the low warmer than normal. I’ll say mid to upper 60’s, probably like 68. The bad news is that the high won’t be much warmer than the low. We’ll go with low to mid 70’s, 72 if you are looking for an exact figure. The winds will be light around 5 mph or so with occasional gusts coming in with the rain. Unfortunately I am calling for rain so dress appropriately. Not a wash out, but more of an inconvenience with occasional breaks in the precipitation throughout the day.
The game day sunrise for College Park, Maryland on September 17th is for 6:51 am. Keep in mind just like the Clemson game, 6 hours before kick off is 6:00 am which is now 51 minutes before sunrise. The sunset, not that you will see it behind the clouds, is scheduled for 7:12 pm. As you can see we are inching toward the 12-12 mark for daylight and nighttime. If I do turn out to be wrong in predicting rain we will be treated to a beautiful full moon, well actually a waxing gibbous that is only 99% full, but close enough.
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.
- 1932 - Concord NH was drenched with 5.97 inches of rain in 24 hours to establish a record for that location (16th- 17th). (The Weather Channel)
- 1963 - Nearly two and a half inches of rain fell at Yuma AZ in 24 hours. It was the most intense rain for Yuma during the period between 1909 and 1977. (The Weather Channel)
- 1987 - Thunderstorms produced large hail, damaging winds, and heavy rain in the northeastern U.S. Heavy rain in southwestern Pennsylvania forced evacuation of twenty homes along Four Mile Run Creek, near Darlington. Harrisburg PA established a record for the date with 2.11 inches of rain. A cold front in the central U.S. brought freezing temperatures to parts of Montana and Wyoming. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
- 1988 - Early in the morning a tornado hit Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio, TX, injuring three persons and causing twenty-eight million dollars damage. A second tornado on the northwest side of San Antonio caused six million dollars damage, and a third tornado in Bexar County killed one person and injured another. Thunderstorms associated with Hurricane Gilbert spawned a total of forty-seven tornadoes in a two day period, with forty of those tornadoes in central and south central Texas. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary)
- 1989 - Hurricane Hugo hit the Virgin Islands, producing wind gusts to 97 mph at Saint Croix. Hurricane Hugo passed directly over the island of Saint Croix causing complete devastation and essentially cutting off the island from communications. A storm surge of five to seven feet occurred at Saint Croix. The only rain gauge left operating, at Caneel Bay, indicated 9.40 inches in 24 hours. Hurricane Hugo claimed the lives of three persons at Saint Croix, and caused more than 500 million dollars damage. A ship, Nightcap, in the harbor of Culebra, measured wind gusts as high as 170 mph. A cold front brought high winds to the Great Basin and the Rocky Mountain Region, and thunderstorms along the cold front produced wind gusts to 66 mph at Yellowstone Park WY. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary)
After reading all the record rainfalls on this date, I am starting to feel more comfortable in my forecast. Go TERPS!
***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.