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News and Highlights: From the Vault (Winter 2006/2007)
Maryland has a moderate climate: Average seasonal snowfall: 20.6 inches. Ranges from 10 inches on the lower Eastern Shore to 110 inches in Garrett County. Every few years, Maryland receives significant snowfall, the most recent being the "President's Day Snowstorm" of 2003 (February 16, 17, and 18, 2003), which dumped 17 to 28 inches of snow across the Washington-Baltimore region. The University of Maryland, College Park, campus, closed for three days.
Winter view of Taliaferro Building in snow, University of Maryland, College Park, ca. 1950-1985.
Two students outside in the snow jumping around, University of Maryland, College Park, 1968. From the Terrapin Yearbook.
Two students on skis on campus in front of a building after a snowfall, trying to learn how to ski, 1967. University of Maryland, College Park. From the Terrapin Yearbook.
A man and a women bundled up standing outside in the snow, University of Maryland, College Park, 1934. From the Reveille Yearbook.
The University of Maryland Libraries hold a number of collections that document the weather in Maryland, including the Papers of Joseph Moyer, who was state climatologist and a University of Maryland faculty member. Weather can be traced in a variety of other sources, such as diaries and letters. For example, while Maryland Manuscript 5433, the Diary of Corporal Edwin Keay, Company C and E, 91st New York documents life of a Civil War soldier at Fort McHenry in 1865, and mentions historical events such as the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, it also contains a faithful account of the weather conditions in Baltimore throughout the year.
Additional Resources
- Bibliography of Maryland Agriculture contains numerous publications documenting weather in Maryland, such as the Maryland Weather Service Reports
- Maryland State Climatologist Office
- Maryland Weather Blog
See previous From the Vault entries.