NEWS: 1984

As 1984 begins, it's clear and 19 degrees F at Baltimore's weather station (at BWI Airport). The wind is from the west-northwest at 3 miles an hour.

AT&T divests itself of its 22 Bell System telephone companies as was ordered by the U.S. Government Department of Justice in an antitrust action. The 22 Bell System companies are reorganized as seven regional Bell companies, or "baby Bells," independent of AT&T and responsible for telephone operations in their geographic regions including local phone calls. The regional Bell companies are: NYNEX, Bell Atlantic, BellSouth, Ameritech, Southwestern Bell Corporation, Pacific Telesis, and US West. AT&T relinquishes its monopoly over long-distance phone calls originating from the U.S. (allowing competition for long-distance telephone service from such new companies as Sprint and MCI). In addition, its subsidiary Western Electic relinquishes its monopoly over the manufacture and sales of telephones and telephone switching equipment in the U.S., opening up the U.S. telephone market to many other manufacturers. (Two other U.S. regional phone companies, Cincinnati Bell and Southern New England Telephone, are only partially owned by AT&T. They continue to exist after AT&T's breakup, but are no longer required to use Western Electric equipment nor use AT&T for routing long-distance phone calls.)

This year (or in 1983), Kellogg's drops the word "sugar" from three of its cereals. Sugar Frosted Flakes become Frosted Flakes, Sugar Smacks become Honey Smacks, and Sugar Corn Pops (originally Sugar Pops) become Corn Pops.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Clear, then partly cloudy to cloudy, then clear to partly cloudy; High temp. 39 F; Low temp. 14 F; Precipitation: None.  No snow on the ground.

Baltimore gets 4.6 inches of snow from a storm that lasts from mid-morning to mid-evening.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Snow (4.6 inches); High temp. 30° F; Low temp. 23° F, Precip.: 0.58 inch (liquid).  4 inches of snow on the ground.

The low temperature in Baltimore reaches -7 degrees F, the lowest-ever temperature in Baltimore on any January 22nd (up to this point) since recordkeeping began in 1871.  The temperature falls to -10 degrees F in Catonsville.  These are both all-time records (up to this point) for low temperature for any Janary 22nd in these locations.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Clear, then mostly cloudy; High temp. 26 F; Low temp -7 F; Precipitation: None.  4 inches of snow on the ground.

Apple Computer debuts its first Macintosh desktop computer, the Model M0001, later rebranded the Macintosh 128K.  It has a 9-inch monochrome display built into it.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Rain; High temp. 37° F; Low temp. 31° F, Precip.: 0.22 inch.  3 inches of snow on the ground.

U.S. President Ronald Reagan announces that he will seek re-election in the fall, as will Vice President George H.W. Bush.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: A trace of snow; High temp. 39° F; Low temp. 26° F, Precip.: Trace (liquid).  A trace of snow on the ground.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 37° F; Low temp. 24° F, Precip.: None.  A ttace of snow on the ground.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during January 1984 is 1.96 inches, including melted snow and ice, below the normal of 3.08 inches.  The average daily high temperature for Baltimore during January 1984 is 36.9 degrees F, below the normal of 43.2 degrees.  The average daily low temperature for Baltimore during January 1984 is 20.1 degrees F, below the normal of 25.4 degrees.  A total of 8.4 inches of snow falls at Baltimore's official weather station during January 1984, above the normal of 6.4 inches.

The Baltimore Colts prepare to move from Baltimore to Indianapolis without telling officials in Baltimore beforehand.  The Colts' equipment from their offices and training facility, as well as their playing equipment, is packed into Mayflower moving vans.

By this date, sales of Apple Computer's first Macintosh desktop computer reach 70,000 units.

Michael Dell begins Dell Computer Corporation while a student at the University of Texas at Austin.

The movie "Indiana Jones and the Tmple of Doom" is released.

U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop issues a report saying that there is "very solid" evidence linking cigarette smoke to lung disease in non-smokers.

Aeroflot Flight 3352, a Tupolev Tu-154 B-1 plane, crashes into maintenance vehicles on the runway while landing at Omsk Airport in Russia, killing 174 of the 179 people on board and four on the ground. While a chain of mistakes in airport operations contributed to the accident, its major cause was an air traffic controller falling asleep while on duty.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 72 F; Low temp. 55 F; Precip.: None.

Anglican Bishop Desmond Tutu is named winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 67 F; Low temp. 55 F; Precip.: None.

Monterey Bay Aquarium, one of the largest aquariums in the world, opens in Monterey Bay, California. Among its many firsts, the Aquarium is the only aquarium in the world able to keep a great white shark captive for more than 16 days.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Cloudy, then partly cloudy, then cloudy; High temp. 76 F, Low temp. 63 F; Precipitation: None.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 70 F; Low temp. 56 F; Precip.: None.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during October 1984 is 1.94 inches.

The high temperature in Baltimore reaches 77 degrees F, the highest temperature ever recorded for Baltimore on any December 29th (up to this point) since recordkeeping began in 1871.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Partly to mostly cloudy, then clear; breezy from mid-morning onward; High temp. 77 F; Low temp. 57 F; Precipitation: None.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during December 1984 is 1.71 inches, including melted snow and ice.

Total precipitation for Baltimore in 1984 is 36.96 inches, about 5 inches below normal.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Cloudy; light rain in the afternoon and evening; High temp. 46 F; Low temp. 43 F; Precipitation: 0.15 inch.