NEWS: 2014

As 2014 begins, it's clear and 25 degrees F at Baltimore's National Weather Service station at BWI Airport. The wind is calm.

It's the start of the International Year of Family Farming, the International Year of Crystallography, the Internatioal Year of Small Island Developing States, and the International Year of Solidarity With the Palestinian People, as declared by the United Nations.

In Colorado, America's first recreational-marijuana stores open for business for the first time.

Beginning on this day, ordinary tungsten-filament incandescent light bulbs ranging from 40 watts to 150 watts are no longer manufactured in the United States nor imported into the U.S., because they do not meet new stricter U.S. energy standards. One exception is 3-way incandescent bulbs. Another exception is incandescent light bulbs that are more efficient and meet or exceed the new energy standards. For example, there is a 43-watt halogen incandescent light bulb that produces the amount of light equivalent to an ordinary 60-watt bulb; these more-efficient bulbs are allowed to be manufactured and sold.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Clear, then partly cloudy to cloudy, then mostly cloudy; High temp. 44° F; Low temp. 23° F; Precipitation: None.  No snow on the gorund.

Baltimore gets 5.1 inches of snow from an afternoon and evening storm.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Snow (5.1 inches); High temp. 39° F; Low temp. 14° F; Precip.: 0.42 inch (liquid).  5 inches of snow on the ground.

Emilio Del Giudice dies at age 74 in Milan, Italy. He was an Italian theoretical physicist who worked in the field of condensed matter. Pioneer of string theory in the early 1970s, later on he became better known for his work with Giuliano Preparata at the Italian Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN). He was born on January 1, 1940 in Naples, Italy.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 49° F; Low temp. 17° F; Precip.: None.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during January 2014 is 2.71 inches, including melted snow and ice, below the normal amount of 3.08 inches. The average daily high temperature for Baltimore during January 2014 is 37.0 degrees F, below the normal of 43.2 degrees.  The average daily low temperature for Baltimore during January 2014 is 17.8 degrees F, well below the normal of 25.4 degrees.  A total of 9.8 inches of snow falls at Baltimore's official weather station at BWI Airport during January 2014, above the normal amount of 6.4 inches.

3.06 inches of precipitation falls in Baltimore, the most in Baltimore on any April 30th (up to this point) since recordkeeping began in 1871.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during April 2014 is 8.60 inches, more than twice the normal amount for April.

The Church of England votes to allow women to become bishops.

Jimmy Rollins becomes the Philadelphia Phillies' all-time hits leader when he singles in the fifth inning against Chicago's Edwin Jackson for his 2,235th hit for the 132-year-old franchise. At the end of the inning, Mike Schmidt, the Hall of Famer who set the previous mark, greets the 35-year-old switch-hitting shortstop with a high-five and a hug at first base with the entire team then coming out from the Philadelphia dugout to offer their congratulations on the milestone hit.

Tony Gwynn Sr. dies at age 54 in Poway, California.  He was a professional baseball right fielder, who played 20 seasons (1982–2001) in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres. The left-handed hitting Gwynn won eight batting titles in his career, tied for the most in National League (NL) history.

The number of deaths from the worst Ebola outbreak in history reaches 700 in West Africa.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during July 2014 is 2.80 inches.

The remnants of Hurricane Gonzalo make landfall in the United Kingdom causing heavy rains and gale force winds.

A collision between two buses on the Dhaka-Raishahihighway leaves at least 30 people dead in northwestern Bangladesh

The Chief Executive Officer of large French oil-and-gas companyTotal, Christophe de Margerie, dies in a plane crash in Moscow, Russia, together with three members of the flight crew. .

A huge explosion occurs in a rubber factory in the rebel held city of Donetsk in Ukraine with the Russian media claiming it was caused by a missile. The Government of Ukraine denies the charges.

In Libya, pro-government forces launch an attack on Islamist militants resulting in 75 deaths in five days.

In Iraq, at least 43 Shi'ites are killed in Baghdad and the holy city of Karbala in a wave of suicide and car bombings.

Joko Widodo is sworn in as President of Indonesia.

Two members ofPrime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe's cabinet resign over a scandal involving alleged misuse of political funds.

Baltimore weather: Mostly cloudy, High temperature 66 degrees F, Low temperature 36 degrees F, Precipitation: None.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during December 2014 is 3.58 inches, including melted snow and ice.

Total precipitation for Baltimore in 2014 is 52.58 inches, about 11 inches above normal.