NEWS: 1981

As 1981 begins, it's cloudy and 25 degrees F at Baltimore's weather station (at BWI Airport). The wind is from the south-southeast at 5 miles per hour.

It's the beginning of the International Year for Disabled Persons, as proclaimed by the United Nations.

Snow falls in the Baltimore area during the morning. Catonsville receives two inches of snow.

Eden Riegel is born in Washington, D.C. She is an actress who portrayed Bianca Montgomery in the daytime drama All My Children, and propelled the character into a gay icon, as well as a popular figure within the medium. Nominated previously on multiple occasions, she received a Daytime Emmy Award for the role in 2005. In addition to her work on All My Children, Riegel has guest starred in several prime time shows, as well as film, and starred as character "Eden" in the web series Imaginary Bitches. She assumed the role of Heather Stevens on The Young and the Restless from April 2010 to November 2011. Riegel is a prolific voice actress also, providing the voices for many video games and animated projects. She is the voice director for Disney's animated TV series Amphibia, The Owl House and The Ghost and Molly McGee.

Jonas Armstrong is born William Jonas Armstrong in Dublin, Ireland.  He is an Irish actor known for playing the title role in the BBC One drama series Robin Hood.

BWI Airport gets 2.5 inches of snow, the greatest snowfall on one day for BWI Airport in 1981.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Cloudy; snow (2.5 inches) until mid-afternoon; High temp. 30 F; Low temp. 24 F; Precipitation: 0.19 inch (liquid).  2 inches of snow on the ground.

Kelton Kessee is born in Los Angeles, CA. He's a rhythm-and-blues singer in the boy band IMx (originally known as Immature). He has also appeard in films: You Got Served (2004), All About the Benjamins (2002) and Freddy vs. Jason (2003).

Ryan Merchant is born in San Francisco, CA. He's part of the American pop-music band Capital Cities which he co-founded with Sebu Simonian, and has since expanded to six members. He plays keyboard and guitar and sings.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Cloudy with snow flurries, becoming clear; breezy/windy much of the day (30-mph wind gust at 1:00 pm); High temp. 36 F; Low temp. 19 F; Precipitation: Trace (liquid).  2 inches of snow on the ground.

Eli Manning is born Elisha Nelson Manning in New Orleans, LA. He's a former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons with the New York Giants. After playing college football at Ole Miss, he was selected first overall in the 2004 NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers and traded to the Giants during the draft. He is the youngest son of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning and younger brother of former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning. He twice led the Giants to underdog Super Bowl victories against the New England Patriots' dynasty in Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl XLVI. The former, which saw the wild card Giants defeat a Patriots team that was the first to win all 16 regular-season games, is regarded as one of the greatest sports upsets of all time. Manning was named Most Valuable Player in both championships, making him one of five players to have multiple Super Bowl MVP awards.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Clear, then cloudy with a trace of snow, then mostly cloudy to partly cloudy; windy in late evening (32-mph gust at 11:00 pm); High temp. 36 F; Low temp. 14 F; Precipitation: Trace (liquid).  A trace of snow on the ground.

The low temperature in Baltimore reaches 1 degree F, the lowest temperature ever in Baltimore on any January 12th (up to this point) since recordkeeping began in 1871.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Clear, then partly cloudy, then clear; briefly breezy at midday; High temp. 19 F; Low temp. 1 F; Precipitation: None.  AS trace of snow on the ground.

The low temperature in Baltimore reaches 0 degrees F, a tie for the lowest temperature ever recorded in Baltimore for any January 13th (up to this point) since recordkeeping began in 1871. This low temperature ties the 0 F that was recorded in Baltimore on January 13, 1912.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Clear, then cloudy, then mostly cloudy; High temp. 24 F; Low temp. 0 F; Precipitation: None.  A trace of snow on the ground.

Ronald W. Reagan takes office as the 40th U.S. President, succeeding Jimmy Carter. George H.W. Bush takes office as U.S. Vice President.

After Ronald Reagan becomes the new U.S. president, the 53 Americans held as hostages in the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran, are released and flown out of Tehran and back to the United States. They had been hostages for 444 days, having been captured on November 4, 1979.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Light rain; High temp. 53° F; Low temp. 37° F, Precip.: Trace.

U.S. President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan greet 52 people who had been held as hostages by Iran for 444 days.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 52° F; Low temp. 38° F, Precip.: None.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 38° F; Low temp. 14° F, Precip.: None.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during January 1981 is 0.49 of an inch, including melted snow and ice. This amount is about 1/6 of the normal amount for January (3.08 inches).  The average daily high temperature for Baltimore during January 1981 is 36.9 degrees F, below the normal of 43.2 degrees.  The average daily ow temperature for Baltimore during January 1981 is 18.8 degrees F, below the normal of 25.4 degrees.  A total of 4.1 inches of snow falls at Baltimore's official weather station during January 1981, below the normal of 6.4 inches.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Light rain; High temp. 51° F; Low temp. 13° F, Precip.: Trace.

This date ends a streak of 10 consecutive days without any precipitation at all at BWI Airport.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Rain; High temp. 52° F; Low temp. 27° F, Precip.: 0.65 inch.

This date ends a streak of 11 consecutive days without any measurable precipitation (beyond a trace) at BWI Airport.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: A trace of snow; High temp. 43° F; Low temp. 18° F, Precip.: Trace.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Rain; High temp. 41° F; Low temp. 24° F, Precip.: 0.31 inch.

U.S. President Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest and seriousy wounded outside the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C., by John W. Hinckley Jr. Reagan was returning from a speaking engagement at the hotel. A bullet from a .22 Long Rifle ricochets off the presidential limousine and strikes President Reagan in the left underarm. The bullet breaks a rib, punctures a lung, and causes serious internal bleeding. Reagan is close to death as he arrives by ambulance at George Washington University Hospital, but he is stabilized in the emergency room and then undergoes emergency exploratory surgery. He recovers and he is released from the hospital on April 11, 1981.

In the Reagan shooting, White House Press Secretary James Brady. Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy and police officer Thomas Delahanty are also wounded. All three survive, but James Brady suffers brain damage. When Brady dies on August 4, 2014, his death is considered a homicide because of the damage to his brain caused by the shooting three and a half years earlier.

This month, the first cases of AIDS in the United States are documented, but the disease is not called AIDS until late 1982.  There is some evidence worldwide that AIDS existed for several years before being documented as a new disease.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during June 1981 is 5.40 inches.

The Major League Baseball strike ends after 42 days.  Players agree to restrict free agency to players with at least six years of Major League service.  Also, it is agreed that teams that lost a "premium" free agant would be compensated by drawing from a pool of players left unprotected by all teams, not just the signing team. During the strike, 713 regular-season games (about 38 percent of the schedule) are cancelled.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during July 1981 is 4.59 inches.

Major League teams begin playing each other in the regular season again after a 2-month baseball strike.  This is the start of the second half of the "1981 split season," necessitated by the strike.  A total of 713 baseball games that were scheduled for the middle part of the 1981 season are cancelled.

The St. Louis Cardinals defeat the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-3, but Pete Rose of the Phillies singles for his 3,631st major-league base hit, breaking the National League record for most base hits held by Stan Musial. His hit comes off Cardinals pitcher Mark Littell in the top of the 8th inning in Philadelphia. Attandance is 60,561.

The low temperature in Baltimore reaches 28 degrees F, a tie for the lowest temperature ever recorded for Baltimore on any October 20th (up to this point) since recordkeeping began in 1871. This low temperature ties the 28 degrees F that was recorded in Baltimore on October 20, 1972.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Clear; breezy from late morning until evening; High temp. 60 F, Low temp. 29 F; Precipitation: None.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Clear, becoming cloudy; rain from late afternoon onward; High temp. 43 F; Low temp. 20 F; Precipitation: 0.39 inch.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during December 1981 is 3.30 inches, including melted snow and ice.

Total precipitation for Baltimore in 1981 is 31.22 inches, about ten and a half inches below normal.