Maryland's 2016 weather highlights

Maryland's Biggest Blizzard Ever!

Despite a mild winter due to a strong El-Nino influence, Maryland experienced the biggest snow storm of all time. Even though there were reports around Maryland of higher totals, the official reporting location (BWI) recorded a total of 29.2" of snow. This beat the old record of 26.8" set back in 2003.

Maryland Experienced the Highest Pollen Count Ever

Here is the allergy report for today April 21, 2016:

Trees -- 5475 grs/cubic meters in the very high range for oak, maple, elm, poplar, beech, birch, hickory, sycamore, willow, ash.
Grass -- 135 grs/cubic meters in the very high range.
Weeds -- 60 grs/cubic meters in the high range english plantain, sorrel.
Total Pollen -- 5670 grs/cubic high in the very high range.
Molds -- 196 grs/cubic meters in the moderate range.

The high pollen counts were due to several reasons, one of them being the blizzard mentioned above. Heavy precipitation during the fall and winter puts stress on plants, so instead of making more leaves they make more flowers, which leads to more pollen. Therefore, the production of pollen is enhanced, especially grass pollen.

Also, temperatures are at fault. The higher the mercury during the summer, the higher the pollen will be in the spring that follows. Ups and downs in the temperatures also cause pollen to be high.

Howard County Tornado

This year Maryland had its share of severe weather including an EF-0 tornado, which affected our friends in Howard County. 

The storm produced several damage reports and power outages proving that even a weak EF-0 tornado should be taken seriously.

Ellicott City's Historic Flash Flood

Howard County was hit again by severe weather and this time it was flash flooding. No one will forget the images that came out of Ellicott City's "1000 year flood". Great stories of survival and lost came from Main Street that night.

Ellicott City received a reported total of 6" - 9" of rain in less than 3 hours.

Late Fall Ice Event 

One week before the official start of Winter, Maryland was hit with some arctic air and icy conditions. Temps remained well below freezing as rain was moving into the area. This atmospheric set-up caused horrible road conditions despite pre-treatment of the roads.

This ice event contributed to an awful crash on I-95 that morning.

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