NEWS: 1982

As 1982 begins, it's raining and 43 degrees F at Baltimore's weather station (at BWI Airport). The wind is from the east at 12 miles an hour.

It's the beginning of the International Year of Mobilization for Sanctions Against South Africa, as declared by the United Nations.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Cloudy, becoming clear; rain in the morning; breezy/windy much of the day (30-mph gust at 3:00 pm); High temp. 51 F; Low temp. 35 F; Precipitation: 0.33 inch.  No snow on the ground.

The low temperature in Baltimore reaches 1 degree F, the lowest temperature ever in Baltimore for any January 11th (up to this point) since recordkeeping began in 1871.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Mostly cloudy to cloudy, then clear, then cloudy; breezy/windy (31-mph gusts max.); High temp. 18 F; Low temp. 1 F; Precipitation: None.

The low temperature in Baltimore reaches -7 degrees F, the lowest temperature ever in Baltimore for any January 17th (up to this point) since recordkeeping began in 1871. Additionally, this low temperature ties the lowest temperature ever recorded in Baltimore (up to this point), reached three times earlier.

A meteorological event called "Cold Sunday" occurs as unprecedentedly cold air sweeps down from Canada and plunges temperatures across much of the United States far below existing all-time record lows. Hundreds of cities and towns from North Dakota to New Jersey to Mississippi set records for all-time lowest temperatures. Baltimore ties its all-time -7 F low.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Partly cloudy, then clear, then cloudy; breezy/windy until mid-afternoon (23 mph sustained wind and 32-mph gust at 2:00 am); High temp. 11 F; Low temp. -7 F; Precipitation: None.  5 inches of snow on the ground.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Light rain; High temp. 51° F; Low temp. 38° F, Precip.: 0.02 inch.  3 inches of snow on the ground.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during January 1982 is 3.37 inches, including melted snow and ice, above the normal 0f 3.08 inches.  The average daily high temperature for Baltimore during January 1982 is 33.9 degrees, well below the normal of 43.2 degrees.  THe average daily low temperature for Baltimore during January 1982 is 17.1 degrees F, well below the normal of 25.4 degrees.  A total of 14.8 inches of snow falls at Baltimore's official weather station during January 1982, well above the normal of 6.4 inches.

WNUV (Channel 54) of Baltimore broadcasts for the first time. It joins WBFF as Baltimore's second UHF TV station on the air, along with Baltimore's three VHF TV stations (WBAL, WJZ, WMAR).

This month, Kodak introduces its Disc line of cameras. These cameras are relatively small and flat, able to fit into many pockets (similar in size to Kodak's Pocket Instamatic).. Disc camera film consists of 15 (initially unexposed) film negatives each mounted separately on a plastic disc. The discs are easy to put into, and take out of, the cameras. Disc cameras are fixed-focus, fixed-aperture and battery-powered, either by long-life lithium batteries or by alkaline 9-volt transistor batteries. They have automatic film advance and automatic flash, provided by an integrated xenon stobe light. However, the photographic prints from Disc camera film tended to be grainier, less-focused, and less true to color than other camera films. This was often because many film processors did not invest in the special equipment needed to take full advantage of the disc's negatives. In the mid-to-late 1980s, 35mm cameras (including Kodak's own) with their sharper photos became less expensive and easier to use, so Kodak stopped producing Disc cameras in 1988. However, the company continued producing Disc film for another decade after that.

The Atlanta Braves return Chief Noc-A-Homa and his teepee to left field after losing 19 of 21 games and blowing a 10-1/2 game lead. (The teepee was removed for more seats. The Braves recover to regain first place.)

Radio station WCAO switches to a country-music format. (It switched from the Adult Contemporary music format it had for a few years. Before that, it was a Pop/Top 40 music station since 1957.)

The romance novel "Love Is Elected" by Alyssa Howard is first published by Silhouette. Alyssa Howard is the pen name of a group of four Maryland women writers from the Columbia area: Ruth Glick, Eileen Buckholtz, Carolyn Males, and Louise Titchener. (In 1983, another romance novel by Alyssa Howard, "Southern Persuasion," is published.)

In October 1982, the first commercially available audio CD player, the Sony CDP-101, is released in Japan.

The low temperature for Baltimore reaches 33°F, the lowest temperature ever recorded for Baltimore on any October 17th (up to this point) since recordkeeping began in 1871.

Baltimore gets 6.7 inches of snow in a morning snowstorm.

BWI Airport gets 6.7 inches of snow, the greatest snowfall on one day for BWI Airport in 1982.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Cloudy, then partly cloudy, then cloudy, then partly cloudy; High temp. 40 F; Low temp. 31 F; Precipitation: None.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during December 1982 is 2.39 inches, including melted snow and ice.

Total precipitation for Baltimore in 1982 is 36.17 inches, about 6 inches below normal.