National Weather Service

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society usually makes about $1 million in profits from the Philadelphia Flower Show. But not this year. The 2013 show actually fell short about $1.2 million, not an unprecedented event in its 184-year history but a short-term disaster for the many urban "greening" programs it supports. PHS president Drew Becher is now scrambling to cut costs - and to raise $1 million for programs and $200,000 for Flower Show expenses from PHS members and an insurance policy.

Some parts of the region had more rain Sunday than has ever been recorded in Philadelphia. The high mark for the city was 6.63 inches, set on Sept. 16, 1999. The 4.84 inches measured Sunday for Philadelphia International Airport drowned out the date's previous mark of 1.77 inches set in 1977. Parts of Cumberland County had twice as much, with nearly 11 inches recorded at Seabrook Farms in Cumberland County, N.J., according to the National Weather Service. Yet, in Philadelphia, only four dates in city history had higher totals, and it was the most rain since 5.53 inches fell on Oct. 8, 2005.

After weathering more than its share of budget storms, the National Weather Service is turning to one of the nation's premier storm experts to become its new leader. Louis W. Uccellini will become the weather service's director, effective Sunday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, its parent agency, announced Thursday. The appointment was welcomed by members of the forecasters' union, the National Weather Service Employees Organization, who have had a sometimes fractious relationship with the bosses.

Heavy rainstorms snarled traffic through the Philadelphia area Monday and delayed the start of the practice round of the 113th U.S. Open Golf Championship at the Merion Golf Club in Ardmore. The National Weather Service, which posted various flood watches and warnings for the entire region, reported more than an inch of rain falling within two hours in some parts of the region. The East Branch of the Perkiomen reached 7.2 feet at Schwenksville just after 12:30 p.m., or 0.2 inches above flood stage, and was continuing to rise.

Did the National Weather Service and news media exaggerate the strength of Hurricane Irene?

A tornado warning has been issued by the National Weather Service for a swath of the region through 1 p.m. Thunderstorms will bring gusty winds and heavy rain through early evening. But parts of northern New Castle Co., Delaware Co. and Gloucester Co. will also see the potential for twisters, according to the National Weather Service. Shortly before 1 p.m., a funnel cloud was spotted near Wilmington, according to Accuweather. The storms will continue through the day until 8 p.m. Highs will be near 87. Lows may reach a confortable 71 tonight.

On the first weekend of March, having been starved for low drama by a resolutely unstormy winter, local broadcasters began calling for midweek snow with all the urgency of a pagan prayer to the elements. By the end of the week, though, the snow gods had seen fit to provide Philadelphia with only a fifth of an inch. "Where is the snow?" NBC10 meteorologist Sheena Parveen asked late on the afternoon of March 6, well after it was supposed to have been piling up. "That's the million-dollar question at this point.

The remains of Tropical Storm Sandy could rock the Philadelphia region with flooding rains, high winds, and beach-erasing waves early next week, the National Weather Service warned Tuesday. "Our region could be close to the path of a very dangerous storm," Gary Szatkowski, chief meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Mount Holly, said in a briefing to emergency managers. Computer models are far from settling on a course for the storm, still deep in the Caribbean on Tuesday.

With the third-straight morning of heavy fog burned off, the day has turned dazzling. The National Weather Service in Mount Holly had a dense fog advisory through 11 this morning, but the fog moved out much earlier. Otherwise we should temperatures in the upper 70s today, with a forecast high of 76. But, we could possibly approach the record high of 80. More patchy fog is expected again tomorrow morning. But Friday is expected to turn mostly sunny with a high of 80. Showers are forecast for Saturday, mostly in the afternoon with a high of 67. Showers are again likely for Sunday.

NEW YORK - A widespread winter storm dumped snow over the Northeast and parts of Ohio on Saturday, just days after the regions were hit by another storm moving from the nation's midsection. The National Weather Service expected up to a foot of snow in parts of southern New England, with the heaviest snowfall possibly in Providence, R.I., and Boston, which declared parking bans to allow snow removal vehicles to clean the streets. Winter storm warnings were in effect in parts of those states and in Connecticut.

THE DAY STARTED with much optimism. It was the day golf fans had been waiting for. The opening round of the U.S. Open was set to take place, and the sun was out early. Thousands of fans got up bright and early and made the morning commute to Merion Golf Club for the first round of action. When 6:45 rolled around, sure enough, Cliff Kresge of Healthrow, Fla., was there to hit the first shot of the 113th U.S. Open. Just 111 minutes later, the horn sounded, and play was suspended for the first time.

Heavy rainstorms snarled traffic through the Philadelphia area Monday and delayed the start of the practice round of the 113th U.S. Open Golf Championship at the Merion Golf Club in Ardmore. The National Weather Service, which posted various flood watches and warnings for the entire region, reported more than an inch of rain falling within two hours in some parts of the region. The East Branch of the Perkiomen reached 7.2 feet at Schwenksville just after 12:30 p.m., or 0.2 inches above flood stage, and was continuing to rise.

OKLAHOMA CITY - At least two tornadoes touched down in Oklahoma and another hit Arkansas on Thursday as a powerful storm system moved through the middle of the country, injuring at least nine people. The National Weather Service reported two tornadoes on the ground near Perkins and Ripley in north-central Oklahoma and another west of Oden, Ark. All nine of the injured were in Arkansas; two of the injuries were attributed to a lightning strike in Rogers. Lightning was also believed to have started a fire at a residential complex in northwestern Indiana.

On the first weekend of March, having been starved for low drama by a resolutely unstormy winter, local broadcasters began calling for midweek snow with all the urgency of a pagan prayer to the elements. By the end of the week, though, the snow gods had seen fit to provide Philadelphia with only a fifth of an inch. "Where is the snow?" NBC10 meteorologist Sheena Parveen asked late on the afternoon of March 6, well after it was supposed to have been piling up. "That's the million-dollar question at this point.

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society usually makes about $1 million in profits from the Philadelphia Flower Show. But not this year. The 2013 show actually fell short about $1.2 million, not an unprecedented event in its 184-year history but a short-term disaster for the many urban "greening" programs it supports. PHS president Drew Becher is now scrambling to cut costs - and to raise $1 million for programs and $200,000 for Flower Show expenses from PHS members and an insurance policy.

GRANBURY, Texas - Ten tornadoes touched down in several small communities in North Texas overnight, leaving at least six people dead, dozens injured and hundreds homeless. Emergency responders were still searching for missing people Thursday afternoon. The National Weather Service gave a preliminary estimate of Wednesday night's violent system, saying a tornado in Granbury had wind speeds between 166 m.p.h. and 200 m.p.h. Other tornadoes damaged nearby Cleburne and Millsap. Granbury, about 40 miles southwest of Fort Worth, bore the brunt of the damage, as the exceptionally powerful tornado tore through two neighborhoods Wednesday evening.

A little snow could start falling Saturday morning, and with another round possible Sunday night, but don't worry about shoveling or stocking up on groceries. Not a single advisory, watch or warning has been issued for the Philadelphia area by the National Weather Service. Storm's too puny to even earn a name from the Weather Channel. Flakes might be in the air in the city and suburbs Saturday morning, but they shouldn't add up to much in the city, not with temperatures remaining above freezing, said meteorologist Larry Nierenberg of the National Weather Service in Mount Holly.

Snow is mentioned in the forecast for early next week. Weather.com mentions "rain/snow" next Monday and Monday night. AccuWeather.com says "rain mixing with snow" the following day. One could justify more faith in a certain late-March hare. Better known as the Easter Bunny. At least we're pretty sure chocolate eggs and jelly beans will arrive as scheduled. [*Editor's note: "late-March hate" was hyphenated above so no one suspects the critter's dead.] Snow? Predicted this far in advance?

Must have been a lot of grousing this morning by local schoolkids unhappy to wake up and see ... nothing . No snow. Forecasts of two to six inches of snow for Philadelphia and its suburbs proved closer to scoops of pixie dust than blankets of sleddable crystals. The word snow failed to even get a mention in the hourly reports overnight for airports in Lancaster, Pottstown, Philadelphia and Mount Holly. Good thing forecasters restrained themselves from citing a computer model that predicted 15 inches of snow, said Anthony Gigi, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Mount Holly.

Here we go again. A midweek storm is expected to produce heavy snow and possibly outage-threatening winds in some Mid-Atlantic states. The biggest threats are actually to the south of Philadelphia, with a foot of snow possible Wednesday into Thursday in parts of Virginia and West Virginia. This snowmaker, starting in the northern Rockies, could dump heavy show from Minneapolis to Chicago on its way toward Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Five inches could accumulate around those two eastern cities - and even Lancaster and Chester Counties could see heavy wet snow - according to a winter storm watch issued by the National Weather Service.