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Air temperatures at Baltimore Washington International Airport in
March and April fluctuated mostly between 50-80 degrees F with frequent rain events.
According to the National Weather Service, this was the wettest April since 1983. The
maximum daily air temperature then warmed steadily from 51 degrees F (April 27) to 92
degrees F (May 7 and 8) with very little rain.
- CBOS data is used with permission of Dr. William
Boicourt, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Horn Point
Laboratory in Cambridge, MD.
- Prorocentrum minimum data is provided courtesy of Walt Butler, Maryland Department
of Natural Resources, Annapolis, MD.
 Water
temperatures in the Bay rose gradually in March and in April 2000 according
to data collected by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental
Science at the Chesapeake Bay Observing System (CBOS) buoy.
Algal samples are collected biweekly by the
Maryland Department of Natural Resources field office during this time of
year and showed a gradual increase in the density of
Prorocentrum
minimum from 106 cells/milliliter on March 7 to 3551 cells/milliliter
on April 18. The sunny, warmer weather in late April and early May generated
a steep rise in the surface water temperature. The temperature rise
coincided with the significant bloom of Prorocentrum to 57,000
cells/milliliter in the lower Patuxent River on May 4. Other bloom areas
observed in early May were recorded by Richard Lacouture and the Academy of
Natural Sciences and included the lower Potomac River and the mid Bay region
south of the Bay Bridge (See distribution maps above, published courtesy of
the Academy of Natural Sciences, St. Leonard, MD).
For more information, please contact
Peter Tango at (410) 260-8651.
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