Posted: 2008-08-22 18:55:21

FAY IS NOT DONE DRENCHING FLORIDA… HOW LONG CAN OUR PERFECT WEATHER LAST… COULD FAY’S REMNANTS AFFECT HAMPTON ROADS NEXT WEEK

Friday is the fifth day that Tropical Storm Fay has affected the state of Florida. Some areas have seen more than two feet of rain from this single storm! That is more than the annual rainfall in many cities across the western U.S. Although winds haven’t been a huge factor, some power outages have occurred. Fay has made landfall three times and is now moving west towards the Gulf Coast states. Eventually, Fay is expected be picked up by a trough moving across the center of the nation, but until then, it will continue its westerly or northwesterly movement dumping heavy rain. Depending on how everything comes together next week, the moisture from Fay may affect our weather, but nothing is certain at this early juncture. It is possible that the moisture from Fay moves west of Hampton Roads up across the Appalachian Mountains. What caused Fay to move west instead of up the east coast? A huge high pressure system off the New England coast blocked Fay’s movement. Winds flow clockwise around high pressure areas in the northern hemisphere so they just pushed Fay to the west. Our weather over the weekend will be affected by a persistent onshore flow off the Atlantic. There will be some clouds at times and there is a slight chance of a shower in some spots. Forecasters don’t expect significant rainfall until mid-week at the earliest. The tropics are getting quite active so please stay tuned! There may be a new tropical storm by early next week. I’ll have an update over the weekend.