NEWS: 1985

As 1985 begins, it's cloudy and 43 degrees F at Baltimore's weather station (at BWI Airport). The wind is from the east at 3 miles an hour.

It's the beginning of International Youth Year (Participation, Development, Peace), and the Year of the United Nations, as proclaimed by the United Nations.

This year, Post Foods drops the word "sugar" from its Sugar Crisp cereal, and changes its name to Golden Crisp. There was also Super Sugar Crisp, which became Super Golden Crisp.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Cloudy, then mostly cloudy, then cloudy; a light rain shower in mid-morning; breezy in mid-to-late afternoon; High temp. 64 F; Low temp. 43 F; Precipitation: 0.01 inch.  No snow on the ground.

Nicole Beharie is born in West Palm Beach, Florida. She's an actress, best known for her starring roles in films such as the drama American Violet (2008), the psychological drama Shame (2011), the biographical sports drama 42 (2013), and the independent drama Miss Juneteenth (2020). From 2013 to 2016, she starred in the Fox supernatural drama series Sleepy Hollow.

Mark Pontius, also known as Ponsi, is born in Orlando, Florida. He's a musician who is best known as a founding member and drummer of the American alt pop band Foster the People. Prior to joining Foster the People in 2009, Pontius was part of Los Angeles indie pop band Malbec. He left the band in 2021.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Cloudy; rain in the afterno0on, changing to snow in the evening (a trace of snow); breezy until mid-afternon; High temp. 40 F; Low temp. 31 F; Precipitation: 0.52 inch (liquid).   No snow on the ground.

Lenora Crichlow is born in City of Westminster, London, England. She's a British actress. She became known for her starring roles as Maria "Sugar" Sweet in the (British) Channel 4 comedy-drama series Sugar Rush, Annie Sawyer in the BBC Three supernatural drama series Being Human, and Shania Andrews in the 2012 sports drama film Fast Girls. In 2013, Crichlow portrayed Chen Sam in the television film Burton & Taylor and Victoria Skillane in the episode titled White Bear of the dystopian sci-fi series, Black Mirror. She has since had regular roles in the ABC sitcom Back in the Game and the NBC comedy series A to Z.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Cloudy; rain with a trace of snow in the early morning and from mid-afternoon onward; High temp. 34 F; Low temp. 31 F; Precipitation: 0.35 inch (liquid).  A trace of snow on the gorund.

Baltimore gets 2.5 inches of snow in a morning snowfall.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Snow (2.5 inches); High temp. 36° F; Low temp. 24° F, Precip.: 0.20 inch (liquid).  2 inches of snow on the ground.

The second inauguration of Ronald Reagan as president of the United States is held in a televised ceremony on January 20, 1985, at the White House. This is the 50th presidential inauguration and marks the commencement of the second and final four-year term of both Ronald Reagan as president and of George H. W. Bush as vice president. As the weather outside is harsh, with daytime temperatures of 7°F and wind chills of −25°F, the event organizers are forced to move the public inaugural ceremony, which had been planned for the open air, inside to the Capitol Rotunda. (See January 21, 1985.) 

The low temperature in Baltimore reaches -3 degrees F, the lowest-ever temperature in Baltimore on any January 20th (up to this point) since recordkeeping began in 1871.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Snow (0.3"); High temp. 24° F; Low temp. -3° F, Precip.: 0.03 inch (liquid).  One inch of snow on the ground.

The second inauguration of Ronald Reagan as president of the United States is repeated, this time at the Capitol's rotunda and with public attendance. As had officially happened the day before, Chief Justice Warren E. Burger administers the presidential oath of office to Reagan, and former Associate Justice Potter Stewart administers the vice-presidential oath to George H. W. Bush. After Reagan's inaugural address and the pronunciation of the benediction by Peter J. Gomes, the U.S. Marine Band plays The Star Spangled Banner.

The low temperature in Baltimore reaches -6 degrees F, the lowest-ever temperature in Baltimore on any January 21st (up to this point) since recordkeeping began in 1871.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 14° F; Low temp. -6° F, Precip.: None.  One inch of snow on the ground.

Baltimore gets 3.7 inches of snow, the greatest snowfall for Baltimore on any January 31st (up to this point) since recordkeeping began in 1871.

BWI Airport gets 3.7 inches of snow, the greatest snowfall on one day for BWI Airport in 1985.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Snow (3.7 inches) and rain; High temp. 37° F; Low temp. 29° F, Precip.: 0.47 inch (liquid).  2 inches of snow on the ground.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during January 1985 is 2.03 inches, including melted snow and ice, below the normal of 3.08 inches.  The average daily high temperature for Baltimore during January 1985 is 37.3 degrees F, below the normal of 43.2 degrees.  The average daily low temperature for Baltimore during January 1985 is 21.2 degrees F, below the normal of 25.4 degrees.  A total of 9.1 inches of snow falls at Baltimore's official weather station during January 1985, above the normal of 6.3 inches.

The Major League Baseball Players’ Association agrees with the team owners to expand the 1985 League Championship Series format from best-of-five games to best-of-seven games.

The low temperature in Baltimore reaches 27 degrees F, a tie for the lowest temperature ever recorded for Baltimore on any April 3rd (up to this point) since recordkeeping began in 1871. This low temperature tequals the 27 degrees F that was recorded in Baltimore on April 3, 1965.

Chester Gould dies at age 84 in Woodstock, Illinois. He was a cartoonist and the creator of Dick Tracy. He was born on November 20, 1900 in Pawnee, Oklahoma.

For the second game in a row, Fred Lynn of the Orioles hits a sudden-death home run to beat the Twins.  This time the score is 4-2 in 12 innings.

The Greenpeace protest ship Rainbow Warrior is sunk with explosives in Auckland, New Zealand, by French intelligence agents.

All 200 people on board Aeroflot Flight 5143 are killed when the airplane (a Tupolev Tu-154B-2) crashes near Uchkuduk, Uzbek SSR, Soviet Union. It was a domestic scheduled Karshi–Ufa–Leningrad passenger flight. Pilot fatigue is cited as the cause of the accident.

The international rock concert "Live Aid" takes place in London, Philadelphia, Moscow, and Sydney, to raise money for Africa's starving people.

5.00 inches of precipitation falls in Baltimore, the most in Baltimore on any September 27th (up to this point) since recordkeeping began in 1871.

Baltimore weather: Very heavy rain in the morning, then cloudy, then partly to mostly cloudy; breezy/windy from early morning to late afternoon (29-mph sustained wind and 39-mph gust at noon); very low baromettric pressure (29.18 inches at 8:07 am); High temp. 71 F; Low temp. 60 F; Precipitation: 5.00 inches.

Charles Francis Richter dies at age 85 in Pasadena, California. He was a physicist and the inventor of the Richter magnitude scale, by which earthquakes are measured. He was born on April 26, 1900 in Overpeck, Ohio.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during September 1985 is 6.22 inches, about twice the normal amount for September.

Jennifer Nicole Freeman is born in Long Beach, California. She becomes an actress, often credited as Jennifer N. Freeman. She is best known for playing the role of Claire Kyle in the sitcom My Wife and Kids and her film roles in You Got Served, and Johnson Family Vacation.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Cloudy; rain showers in mid-morning and in the evening;breezy in late morning; High temp. 72 F, Low temp. 51 F; Precipitation: 0.19 inch.

Dec. 31, 1985

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Mostly cloudy, then clear, then becoming cloudy; a light rain shower in late evening; breezy at times in late morning and afternoon; High temp. 44 F; Low temp.  25 F; Precipitation: 0.01 inch.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during December 1985 is 0.84 of an inch, including melted snow and ice. This amount is less than 1/3 of he normal amount for December.

Total precipitation for Baltimore in 1985 is 36.77 inches, about 5 inches below normal.