volume 48, Snow NON-PROFIT ORG. U. S. Postage PAID Permit #6754 Bethesda, MD
February 17, 2010
Walt whitman High school
7100 whittier boulevard
Bethesda, maryland 20817
theblackandwhite.net
SNOW SCHOOL! Isnow c y plains of usually only seen in the Arctic
blanketed Maryland starting Friday, Feb. 5. The snow picked up again
Tuesday, Feb. 9, covering the Mid-Atlantic region with a total of more than 34 inches. In response, MCPS cancelled school all week, and the federal government closed for four days. The 55.9 inches of precipitation, measured at Reagan National Airport since December, broke the seasonal record of 54.4 inches set in the winter of 1888-1889. “There had been a strong jet stream to the south with a pattern bringing cold air into the Northeast,” News 4 meteorologist Bob Ryan wrote in an email to the Black & White. “We were in the middle of three unusually strong winter storms tracking off the coast [in addition to] Atlantic moisture and cold air all converging over us.” In the past, the total annual snowfall in and around the district averaged 16-22 inches. This year, in the past two snow storms alone, the area was hit with 34.2 inches. The snowfall from these snowstorms is more comparable to those in Anchorage, AK and Portland, ME said meteorologist Jeff Masters in a Washington Post article. see WINTER page photo by VICTORIA
SCORDATO
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By Stephanie Haven and Rachel Nussbaum