July 17 Weather: Wildfire Smoke Has Returned

July 17, 2023

Monday Update

The humidity has dropped a little, but we have traded off an air mass that has brought more wildfire smoke our way. This is more concentrated farther north as Air Quality alerts have been issued for Pennsylvania and New York State.

Today should be the worst of this stretch, as we will introduce more showers and thunderstorms midweek.

Air Quality Alert

The smoke and pollution levels will be worst farther north. The Code Orange is in effect for Pennsylvania, with Code Red in central New York State.

While central Maryland has a Code Yellow, I would still expect to see a hazy milky white sky.

Smoke Forecast Snapshot

4 PM Today

Smoke Forecast Through Tuesday

The noticeable factor here is a lower concentration tomorrow.

Morning Surface Weather

Today is my wife Shannon’s Birthday. Just wanted to shout that out!

A series of cold fronts will be swinging through. They are not bringing in colder air, but rather less humid. We will be between systems today, however, some isolated showers may develop in the mountains.

The next impulse will increase our storm risk Mid Week.

Radar Simulation Noon to 12 PM

SUGGESTION: I DO NOT TRUST the short range modeling.

The idea here is for storms to develop in the mountains and track north.

5 PM Radar Snapshot

Some T’Storms may clip Frederick and Carrol counties in Maryland and then track into PA.

Metro Baltimore and the south are likely to remain dry.

Afternoon Temperatures

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CLIMATE DATA

TODAY July 17

Normal Low in Baltimore:  68ºF

Record 58ºF in 1987

Normal High in Baltimore: 89ºF

Record 101ºF 1988

Tuesday Weather

Morning Temperatures

Radar Simulation: Noon to Midnight

Afternoon Temperatures

Looking Ahead

Wednesday to Saturday

7 Day Forecast

Smoke has returned today then should gradually reduce, but the trade-off will be more thunderstorms midweek. Temps stay seasonably warm/hot as we dry out and become less humid at the end of the week.

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RESTATING MY MESSAGE ABOUT DYSLEXIA

I am aware there are some spelling and grammar typos and occasional other glitches. I take responsibility for my mistakes, and even the computer glitches I may miss. I have made a few public statements over the years, but if you are new here you may have missed it: I have dyslexia, and found out during my second year at Cornell University. It didn’t stop me from getting my meteorology degree, and being the first to get the AMS CBM in the Baltimore/Washington region. One of my professors told me that I had made it that far without knowing, and to not let it be a crutch going forward. That was Mark Wysocki and he was absolutely correct! I do miss my mistakes in my own proofreading. The autocorrect spell check on my computer sometimes does an injustice to make it worse. I also can make mistakes in forecasting. No one is perfect predicting the future. All of the maps and information are accurate. The ‘wordy’ stuff can get sticky.  There has been no editor that can check my work when I needed it and have it ready to send out in a newsworthy timeline. Barbara Werner is a member of the web team that helps me maintain this site. She has taken it upon herself to edit typos, when she is able. That could be AFTER you read this. I accept this and perhaps proves what you read is really from me… It’s part of my charm.

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