BALTIMORE — The past couple of days have been wet and gray in Maryland due to some lingering moisture from Ophelia and strong northeasterly flow. I know for a lot of us, including myself, have gone outside to see sprinkles and drizzle. I always check radar to see if there will be rain or not, but most of the time drizzle does not show up on radar, ultimately looking dry and clear, yet that's not the case. Why you may ask? Well most radars have an invisible beam that circles around at different heights and angles in the sky. This tells us if things are falling out of the sky. At times, the beam coming out of the radar (depending on where the radar is) can miss low altitude clouds, fog, and depending on its location. Therefore, at times it may look dry on radar when in reality it is not. The best way to check if there could be rain or not is to look on a visible satellite like the one below. The thicker the white color, the more cloud cover there is, even though the radar is quiet. That doesn't always indicate rain, but can certainly help!
