NEWS: 2004

As 2004 begins, it's clear and 39 degrees F at Baltimore's National Weather Service station at BWI Airport. The wind is from the west-southwest at 3 miles an hour.

It's the beginning of the International Year of Rice, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition, as proclaimed by the United Nations.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Clear, becoming cloudy with a light rain shower; breezy in late morning and early afternoon (20-mph gust at 10:54 am); High temp. 51° F; Low temp. 27° F; Precipitation: Trace.  No snow on the ground.

Beginning on this day, non-U.S. citizens arriving at U.S. airports are required to be photographed and to have their fingerprints scanned. It's the start of a U.S. Goverment program to attempt to keep terrorists out of the U.S.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Cloudy, then partly to mostly cloudy; rain from late morning to mid-afternoon; breezy at times (20-mph wind gust at 10:54 pm); High temp. 47° F; Low temp. 40° F; Precipitation: 0.34 inch.

BWI Airport gets 3.3 inches of snow, the greatest snowfall on one day for BWI Airport in 2004.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Snow (3.3 inches); High temp. 20° F; Low temp. 8° F; Precip.: 0.13 inch (liquid).  4 inches of snow on the ground.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 24° F; Low temp. 11° F; Precip.: None.  5 inches of snow on the ground.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during January 2004 is 1.26 inches, including melted snow and ice, less than half the normal amount for January (3.08 inches).  The average daily high temperature for Baltimore during January 2004 is 35.0 degrees F, well below the normal of 43.2 degrees.  The average daily low temperature for Baltimore during January 2004 is 20.2 degrees F, below the normal of 25.4 degrees.  A total of 8.4 inches of snow falls at Baltimore's official weather station at BWI Airport during January 2004, above the normal amount of 6.4 inches.

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

Baltimore weather: Cloudy, then mostly cloudy, then cloudy; heavy rain and thunderstorms in the morning, late afternoon, and evening (1.29 inches during the 5:00 hour); High temp. 85 F; Low temp. 70 F; Precipitation: 4.45 inches.

The Statue of Liberty pedestal in New York, NY, is reopened to the public for the first time since the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Tony Batista of the Monteal Expos hits a grand slam in the 12th inning after tying the game with a 2-run homer in the 9th inning, to give Montreal a 10-6 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

B.J. Upton of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, age 19, becomes the first teenager in more than 6 years to homer in a major-league game, helping Tampa Bay snap a 6-game losing streak with an 8-3 victory over the Anaheim Angels.

Mark Teixeira of the Texas Rangers hits for the cycle and drives in a career-high 7 runs in a 16-4 defeat of the Cleveland Indians.

US war planes strike a building in Fallujah, Iraq. Local sources say the strike killed a family of six, including four children. The U.S. military, however, denies a family was killed and issues a statement saying that "intelligence sources indicate a known Zarqawi propagandist is passing false reports to the media."

In Samarra, Iraq, two car bombs kill at least eight civilians, including a child, and wound eleven US soldiers. In Baghdad, an adviser to the political party of Iraqi interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi is killed in a drive-by shooting.

CARE International, a health and water aid agency, announces that it is suspending operations in Iraq. Its local manager, Margaret Hassan, was abducted the previous day.

U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Ivan Frederick pleads guilty to conspiracy, dereliction of duty, maltreatment of detainees, assault, and committing an indecent act for his actions in the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal. He is the third person to plead guilty in the scandal.

Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri resigns and says he will leave the government, ending several weeks of conflict between Hariri and the Syrian-backed President, Emile Lahoud. Lahoud's term in office was extended the previous month, allegedly as a result of pressure from Syria; in response, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution condemning foreign interference in Lebanon and demanding the withdrawal of foreign troops.

Ubuntu (a Linux distribution) releases its first version of the Linux operating system. called Warty Warthog (4.10). It is based on the Linux distribution Debian.

The Boston Red Sox top the New York Yankees 10-3 at Yankee Stdium in the 2004 American League Championship Series and win the series after being down 3 games to none, winning four straight games in the greatest comeback in MLB playoffs history (up to this point). The Red Sox continue on to face the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series.

Baltimore weather: Cloudy, then a late-evening rain shower, High temperature 53 degreees F, Low temperature 52 degrees F, Precipitation: 0.05 inch.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during December 2004 is 2.93 inches, including melted snow and ice.

Total precipitation for Baltimore in 2004 is 45.67 inches, about 4 inches above normal.