NEWS: 2003

As 2003 begins, it's cloudy and 44 degrees F at Baltimore's National Weather Service station at BWI Airport. The wind is from the southeast at 5 miles an hour.

It's the beginning of the International Year of Freshwater and the Year of Kyrgyz Statehood, as proclaimed by the United Nations.

The Czech Republic and Slovakia become two new countries created from a split of Czechoslovakia, when then ceases to exist.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Cloudy; rain in the morning and in the evening; windy/breezy from mid-morning to mid-evening (23 mph sustained wind and 29-mph gust at 9:34 pm); High temp. 48° F; Low temp. 39° F; Precipitation: 1.68 inches.

Balimore gets 2.8 inches of snow, mainly in the afternoon, the greatest snowfall for Baltimore on any January 5th (up to this point) since recordkeeping began in 1871.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Clear, becoming cloudy; light snow in the afternoon and early evening (2.8 inches); High temp. 31° F; Low temp. 24° F; Precipitation: 0.24 inch (liquid).  3 inches of snow on the ground.

Saddam Hussein, the president of Iraq, accuses United Nations inspectors of doing "intelligence work" instead of searching for weapons (nuclear, chemical and biological) in Iraq.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Cloudy, then mostly cloudy, then cloudy, then mostly cloudy, then cloudy; light snow showers in mid-morning and late evening (0.7" of snow); High temp. 36° F; Low temp. 30° F; Precipitation: 0.05 inch (liquid).  3 inches of snow on the ground.

The new U.S. Department of Homeland Security gets its first secretary: former Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Snow flurries; High temp. 34° F; Low temp. 12° F; Precip.: Trace (liquid).  No snow on the ground.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Light rain and a trace of snow; High temp. 36° F; Low temp. 32° F; Precip.: 0.02 inch (liquid).  No snow on the ground.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during January 2003 is 2.59 inches, including melted snow and ice, below the normal of 3.08 inches. The average daily high temperature for Baltimore during January 2003 is 35.3 degrees F, well below the normal of 43.2 degrees.  The average daily low temperature for Baltimore during January 2003 is 21.3 degrees F, below the normal of 25.4 degrees.  A total of 5.3 inches of snow falls at Baltimore's official weather station at BWI Airport during January 2003, below the normal amount of 6.4 inches.

Baltimore receives 21.8 inches of snow by the end of the day in a blizzard that begins in the early morning and lasts until midnight (and beyond). There is about 25 inches of snow on the ground, including snowfall from the previous day.

BWI Airport gets 21.8 inches of snow, the greatest snowfall on one day for BWI Airport in 2003.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Cloudy; snow (21.8 inches) from mid-morning through the rest of the day; breezy; High temp. 23 degrees F; Low temp. 12 degrees F; Precip: 1.09 inches (liquid).

An additional 2 inches of snow falls in Baltimore in the early morning as the blizzard of the previous day continues. Total Baltimore snowfall from this storm is 24 inches. About 27 inches of snow is on the ground.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Cloudy; snow (about 2 inches) until just before noon; breezy until evening; High temp. 27 degrees F; Low temp. 19 degrees F; Precip: 0.43 inch (liquid).

THe "President's Day Blizzard of 1983," actually four days in length with gaps, ends in Baltimore and vicinity, with 28.2 inches of total snow reported at BWI Airport. It causes major travel problems and also sets a record for most snowfall for Baltimore in one storm (uo to this point).

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Cloudy, then clear to partly cloudy; light snow in the morning (1/2 inch); breezy in the afternoon; High temp. 37 degrees F; Low temp. 23 degrees F; Precip: 0.05 inch (liquid).

The war in Iraq begins (U.S. time; March 20 Iraq time). The U.S. and coalition forces attack a suspected military bunker using 36 missiles and two bombs. The structure is thought to be a bunker containing high-ranking military officials including Saddam Hussein.

U.S. President George W. Bush states that he ordered the coalition to launch an "attack of opportunity" against specified targets in Iraq. The military action is dubbed "Operation Iraqi Freedom".

The Kansas City Royals defeat the Cleveland Indians 1-0 at Jacobs Field in Cleveland, Ohio. The Royals improve their season record to 8-0. The only score of the game occurs when Jake Westbrook hits a single to drive in Dee Brown, who had walked and then advanced to second base on a groundout. Royals Pitcher Runelvys Hernandez improves his win-loss record to 3-0 after pitching 7 scoreless innings.

The Detroit Tigers lose to the Chicago White Sox 5-0 at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan. The Tigers lose their 9th consecutive game to start the 2003 season.

Cecil Howard Green dies at age 102. He was a British-American entrepreneur, geophysicist, electrical engineer, and electronics manufacturing executive. He co-founded Texas Instruments in 1951. He was born in Whitefield, England, on August 6, 1900.

The Kansas City Royals improve their season-opening record to 9-0 with a 5-2 win against the Cleveland Indians.

The Detroit Tigers defeat the Chicago White Sox 4-3 for the Tigers' first win of the season after losing 9 consecutive games.

John Smoltz of the Atlanta Braves breaks his own record by becoming the quickest to record 40 saves in a season, by pitching a scoreless ninth inning in the Braves' 7-4 win over the Houston Astros. In 2002, he got his 40th save on August 8th, en route to breaking the National League record with 55 saves in the season.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during July 2003 is 5.56 inches.

Hurricane Isabel impacts the Baltimore region and the Mid-Atlantic states. In Baltimore, winds increase throughout the day, with sustained wind speed of 43 mph and a gust to 54 mph at 11:16 pm. Rainfall begins lightly just after noon and becomes heavy in mid-evening.

Strong winds from Isabel extend from North Carolina to New England and westward to West Virginia. The winds, combined with previous rainfall which moistened the soil, down many trees and power lines across its path, leaving about 6 million electricity customers without power at some point. Coastal areas suffer from waves and its powerful storm surge, with areas in eastern North Carolina and southeast Virginia reporting severe damage from both winds and the storm surge. Throughout its path, Isabel results in $3.6 billion in damage (2003 USD) and 47 deaths, of which 16 were directly related to the storm's effects.

The governors of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, and Delaware declare states of emergencies because of Hurricane Isabel. Isabel is the first major hurricane to threaten the Mid-Atlantic states and the South since Hurricane Floyd in September 1999. Isabel's greatest impact is due to flood damage, the worst in some areas of Virginia since 1972's Hurricane Agnes. More than 60 million people are affected to some degree — a similar number to Floyd.

Baltimore gets 2.13 inches of precipitation, the greatest amount for Baltimore on any September 18th (up to this point) since recordkeeping began in 1871. The rainfall is the result of Hurricane Isabel.

The United States posts a record budget deficit of $374.2 billion in the fiscal year ending September 30. The figure breaks the previous record of $290 billion, set in 1992. The number is actually better than the U.S. government's own forecast of $455 billion.

The publicist of Robert De Niro announces that the actor has prostate cancer.

Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien indicates that during an informal meeting between him and Vladimir Putin, the Russian president indicated that he was tentatively in favor of signing the Kyoto Protocol. Russia's signature is absolutely necessary for the protocol to acquire the force of law.

Early results in Swiss elections show larger-than-predicted gains for the right-wing Swiss People's Party.

An Italian archaeologist claims to have found a carved two-faced head over 200,000 years old. The carving is possibly the work of Homo erectus.

The Soyuz TMA-3 spacecraft docks with the International Space Station, bringing a new crew of three from Russia, the United States, and Spain.

Baltimore weather: Clear, then partly cloudy, High temperature: 65 degrees F, Low temperature: 41 degrees F, Precipitation: None.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during December 2003 is 4.71 inches, including melted snow and ice.

Total precipitation for Baltimore in 2003 is 62.66  inches, about 21 inches above normal. All months of the year, except January and April, have above-normal precipitation.