As predicted, a low pressure system is moving up the Eastern Seaboard and will begin to intensify quite rapidly. This will bring a soaking rain to many areas including Hampton Roads. It’s been a very long time since we’ve seen a system like this that has the potential to bring a widespread heavy precipitation event to the East Coast. I know it’s the weekend, but we really need this rainfall as much of the area has been experiencing a drought. This low pressure system has many characteristics of a winter storm. Up to 16 inches of snow may fall in the higher elevations of PA and NY. Winds will also become a factor as the storm intensifies, especially for areas up to our north. The combination of strong winds, heavy wet snow, and trees that have leaves on them may cause power outages in those areas that receive the heaviest wet snow. For our area, it will just be a wet and eventually breezy day with rainfall of varying intensity. Several factors are coming together to cause this storm to intensify. Upper level energy meeting up with the surface low pressure system later today will be the main ingredient that will cause the rapid intensification.  As the low slowly pulls away on Monday, our winds will be mostly out of the west and could be quite gusty. The low will pull cool air down out of Canada so no major warm ups are expected anytime soon. Later in the week another cold front may bring us a round of showers/thunderstorms. That’s it for now. Thanks for reading and have a great day.

It’s been a very long time since we’ve had a widespread soaking rain across the Hampton Roads region. Parts of our area are classified in a moderate drought so we could really use the rainfall. Well, if the current forecast holds, we may receive some very beneficial rainfall on Sunday as a very wet weather system moves up the East Coast. A cold front that is approaching the coast will act as the pathway for the storm system as the front becomes stationary. The low pressure system is expected to intensify as it moves up the coast possibly becoming like a nor’easter for the New England states. Very heavy rainfall is likely up there. In the meantime, Saturday doesn’t look too bad. There is only a very slight chance of rain on Saturday so if you have any yard work to do, Saturday is the day to do it. Saturday will also be the warmest day for a while. I’ll have more on the extended forecast in my Sunday morning post.

As the high pressure system that brought the unseasonably cool conditions to Hampton Roads moves off the Southeast Coast, the return flow of air will be from the southwest. This wind direction will bring in warmer air over the weekend. Temperatures will most likely be above normal on Sunday and Monday. No significant rainfall is expected through Tuesday which is not good news. Although Southeast Virginia is not officially in a drought, increasingly dry conditions are creating problems for fire fighters due to the increased chances of wild fires and forest fires. Low humidity levels combined with windy conditions have already caused problems in the western part of Virginia… The national weather headline for today (Saturday) will most likely be the severe weather that is expected to break out from Texas to Minnesota. Due to the changing wind directions with height, conditions will be ideal for tornadoes in that part of the country. Did you check out the pictures of lightning hitting the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco? That is an amazing sight. The rainy season in California will soon be ending. Our next chance of rain will not come until the middle of next week.  That’s it for now. Thanks for reading and have a great day.

The weather pattern has been very dry of late with very low relative humidity levels. This combined with windy conditions have caused ideal conditions for wildfires and forest fires to erupt in some parts of Virginia. Brush and forest fires have been a problem for parts of the Northeastern States. Many states in the Eastern part of the country have banned open burning. There really is no relief in sight as the pattern remains dry overall. There might be some sprinkles here and there this afternoon and evening as an upper-level disturbance moves through but significant precipitation is not likely through early next week. Temperatures will be below normal through Thursday and will probably be above normal by the time we get to Sunday as our winds should become more southwesterly. Right now, there is a large high pressure system over Central Canada which is causing a cool north to northwesterly flow across the Mid-Atlantic States.  That’s it for now. Thanks for reading and have a great day.

It always seems that when we start our spring planting of flowers, we stop receiving rainfall in my neighborhood. Earlier in the week, thunderstorms developed to our west but they dropped south of here and missed my neighborhood completely. Skies got dark and you could here the thunder but it did not rain much at all. Then, after that, a system brought rain to areas south of here over North Carolina but the dry air prevented any of that moisture from heading this far north. There is very little hope for significant rainfall over the next several days. There may be a shower on Tuesday but odds are, it won’t amount to much. Relative humidity levels will be quite low through Monday. Temperatures will be seasonal over the next few days and overall, conditions will be very pleasant with warm sunny days and cool clear nights. Thanks for reading and have a great day!