NEWS: 2015

As 2015 begins, it's clear and 22 degrees F at Baltimore's National Weather Service station at BWI Airport. The wind is from the west-northwest at 7 miles an hour.

It's the start of the International Year of Soils, and the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies, as declared by the United Nations.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Clear, then partly cloudy, then mostly cloudy, then clear, then partly to mostly cloudy; High temp. 43° F; Low temp. 17° F; Precipitation: None.

California starts issuing driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants.

Little Jimmy Dickens dies at age 94 in Nashville, Tennessee. He was a country music singer and songwriter famous for his humorous novelty songs, his small size (4'11"), and his rhinestone-studded outfits (which he is given credit for introducing into country music live performances). He started as a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 1948 and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1983. Before his death he was the oldest living member of the Grand Ole Opry. Hw was born James Cecil Dickens on December 19, 1920 in Bolt, West Virginia.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Partly cloudy, then lostly cloudy to cloudy; High temp. 46° F; Low temp. 26° F; Precipitation: None.

Rod McKuen dies at age 81 in Beverly Hills,California. He was an American poet, singer-songwriter, and actor, being among the biggest-selling poets of the 1960s and 1970s. He recorded spoken-word poetry, film soundtracks, popular songs, and classical music. He translated two of Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel's songs into two big hit songs in the English-speaking world: "If You Go Away" by numerous artists, and "Seasons In the Sun" sung by Terry Jacks.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Light rain with a trace of snow; High temp. 35° F; Low temp. 17° F; Precip.: 0.07 inch (iquid).  No snow on the ground.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 31° F; Low temp. 16° F; Precip.: None.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during January 2015 is 3.89 inches, including melted snow and ice, above the normal amount of 3.08 inches. The average daily high temperature for Baltimore during January 2015 is 38.8 degrees F, below the normal of 43.2 degrees.  The average daily low temperature for Baltimore during January 2015 is 22.8 degrees F, below the normal of 25.4 degrees.  A total of 5.9 inches of snow falls at Baltimore's official weather station at BWI Airport during January 2015, just below the normal amount of 6.4 inches.

The low temperature in Baltimore reaches 2 degrees F. This is the lowest temperature ever recorded in Baltimore on any February 21st (up to this point) since recordkeeping began in 1871.

BWI Airport gets 6.3 inches of snow, the greatest snowfall on one day for BWI Airport in 2015.

Corey Hassel hits a three-run homer in the bottom of the 18th inning to lead Oklahoma State University to a 6-3 victory over University of Texas in a game that ends after 6 hours, 51 minutes.

Miami Marlins pitcher Jarred Cosart is fined an undisclosed amount for violating Major League Rule 21(d)(3), which “prohibits players from placing bets with illegal bookmakers or agents for illegal book makers.”

Hillary Clinton announces in a video that she will run for U.S. President for a second time.

Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old Black man in Baltimore, is arrested by Baltimore police and placed in a police van for transport to a police station. He is shackled by his hands and feet but unrestrained by a seat belt. During his ride in the van (or possibly just before that, as the officers are loading him into the van), Freddie Gray suffers a spinal cord injury, perhaps as the van suddenly declerates. Freddie Gray dies a week later, on April 19.

Funeral services are held in Baltimore for Freddie Gray, a Black man who died while under police custody.

Riots break out in Baltimore hours after the funeral for Freddie Gray.

The Orioles hit a team-record 8 home runs in their game against the Philadelpha Phillies, winning 19-3. The Orioles are led by Manny Machado and Chris Parmelee, with two homers each. Attendance is 26,964.

Brock Holt of the Boston Red Sox hits for the cycle (single, double, triple, and home run) as the Red Sox defeat the Atlanta Braves 9-4.

Donald Trump launches his successful campaign to become president of the United States.

The Boy Scouts of America ends its ban on gay adult leaders while allowing church-sponsored Scout units to maintain the exclusion for religious reasons.

Catonsville weather: Cloudy, then mostly cloudy, High temp. 89 F, Low temp. 69 F, 11:54 PM temp. 73 F , Precipitation this day: None

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's four-game suspension for using underinflated footballs during the American Football Conference championship game is upheld.

Catonsville weather: Mostly cloudy, then partly cloudy and hazy, High temp. 94 F, Low temp. 71 F, 11:54 PM temp. 72 F, Precipitation this day: None

The New York Yankees' Mark Teixeira hits home runs both lefthanded and righthanded in the same game for the record-setting 14th time, hitting the 10th grand slam of his career plus a 2-run homer in the Yankees' 13-6 win against the Chicago White Sox.

Catonsville weather: Clear, then mostly clear, High temp. 90 F, Low temp. 63 F, 11:54 PM temp. 74 F, Precipitation this day: None

The total precipitation for Baltimore during July 2015 is 3.49 inches.

Four men tackle and disarm a gunman on a high-speed train between Amsterdam and Paris. The men are U.S. Air Force Staff Sergeant Spencer Stone, National Guardsman Alek Skarlatos, college student Anthony Sadler, and British businessman Chris Norman.

Mike Fiers of the Houston Astros pitches a no-hitter, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-0. He had never pitched a complete gsme in his 5-year major-league career before this game, but he struck out 10 batters and threw 134 pitches

The White House announces that U.S. President Barack Obama will change the name of North America's highest mountain from Mount McKinley to Denali, the traditional Alaska Native name.

Jake Arrieta of the Chicago Cubs pitches the 6th no-hitter in the major leagues this season and the second against the Los Angeles Dodgers in ten days, leading the Cubs to a 2-0 victory. He strikes out 12 batters and walks one. He gets the benefit of a close call from the official scorer in the third inning, when Kike Hernandez reaches base on a fielding error by second baseman Starlin Castro. Hernandez hits a one-hopper at Castro, who tries to play it on the short hop, but the ball bounces off him. The play is ruled an error but could have been scored as a base hit.

In the Canadian elections, the Liberal Party, led by Justin Trudeau (son of former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau), wins a landslide victory over the Conservative Party, ending Prime Minister Stephen Harper's more than 9-and-a-half years in office.

The low temperature in Baltimore reaches 29 degrees F, the lowest temperature ever recorded for Baltimore on any October 19th (up to this point) since recordkeeping began in 1871.

At least 70 homes have been destroyed by a raging wildfire (Hidden Pines Fire) in Bastrop County, central Texas. The Texas A&M Forest Service reports the blaze in Bastrop County is currently 80 percent contained.

The United States Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford arrives in Iraq to discuss the ongoing battle against ISIS.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, during a surprise visit to Jerusalem, calls for calm ahead of meetings with Israeliand Palestinian leaders in an effort to bring an end to the month-long wave of violence.

Canada's prime-minister elect Justin Trudeau informs U.S. President Barack Obama that Canada will be withdrawing fighter jets from both Iraq and Syria, effectively ending Canada's military participation in the war on the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

The Taliban kill 22 policemen and kidnap 19 others, including the district’s security chief, during clashes with Afghan troops who kill 12 of the insurgents in the battle in Faryab Province in northern Afghanistan.

Taliban forces advance on Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan, amid fierce fighting with government forces that threatens to cut off a major highway and has prompted many families to flee.

Research from University of California, Los Angeles scientists indicates that life on Earth may have started 4.1 billion years ago – 300 million years earlier than previously thought.

Research by the University of Central Florida indicates a common UV-filtering compound, oxybenzone, found in sunscreen lotion is killing coral, especially among reefs frequented by recreational divers and snorkelers.

A storm that soon becomes extremely-strong Hurricane Patricia develops into a tropical depression in the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of Mexico.

Baltimore weather: Partly cloudy, then clear, High temperature 71 degrees F, Low temperature 39 degrees F, Precipitation: None.

In Game 1 of the 2015 World Series, the Kansas City Royals defeat the New York Mets 5-4 in 14 innings. The game is played in Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, and the attendance is 40,320. In the first inning, on the first pitch thrown by Mets starter Matt Harvey, Alcedes Escobar of the Royals hits an inside-the-park home run, the first in a World Series since Mule Haas hit one in the 1929 World Series. In the bottom of the 14th inning, Eric Hosmer of the Royals hits a sacrifice fly off Mets pitcher Bartolo Colón to right field to allow Escobar to score the winning run from third base. Colón becomes the oldest pitcher ever to lose a World Series game. The game ties the record for longest World Seres game played, by innings, up to this point. It is over at 1:18 AM Eastern time.

During this World Series game, there is a power failure in Fox's broadcast truck parked outside the Royals' stadium, causing the Fox television network to temporarily lose the audio and video feeds for the national broadcast of the game. The power failure occurs in the middle of the fourth inning, and a "rare" electronics failure causes both backup generators in the broadcast truck to fail. Fox is able to restore their audio feed via a telephone line, and restore the video feed by borrowing the video feed from the MLB Network's worldwide broadcast (powered by a different backup generator) until Fox is able to correct the problem. One at-bat is missed on Fox television before the video is restored.

Metrojet Flight 9268, an Airbus A321-231, explodes above the northern Sinai Peninsula following its departure from Sharm El Sheikh International Airport, Egypt en route to Pulkovo Airport, Saint Petersburg, Russia. All 224 passengers and crew on board are killed. The cause of the crash was most likely an onboard explosive device as concluded by Russian investigators.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during October 2015 is 3.40 inches.

The first court trial that attempts to find a Baltimore police officer guilty in the death of Freddie Gray ends in a hung jury and a mistrial. Baltimore police Officer William Porter is not convicted.

The U.S. Federal Reserve raises interest rates for the first time an almost a decade. It raises the key overnight lending rate to a target of 0.25 to 0.50 percent.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during December 2015 is 5.85 inches, including melted snow and ice. This amount is nearly double the normal amount for December.

Total precipitation for Baltimore in 2015 is 51.16 inches, about 9 inches above normal.