Winter Weather Forecast: What to Expect this Season

Michael EckertFeatured, Issue 115, Lake Anna Info, Lake Anna Weather, The Breeze™, The Breeze™ 2024

Several people have asked about the upcoming winter season and whether they should get ready for snow or prepare for another mild winter. The last three winters were very mild with temperatures well above normal and almost no significant snow. Our last big winter storm was Jan 2022 when around 12” of heavy wet snow blanketed the region. This was …

Upper, Middle, and Lower Basins: Understanding Lake Anna’s Watershed and Effect of Runoff

Michael EckertIssue 114, Lake Anna Info, Lake Anna Weather, The Breeze™, The Breeze™ 2024

Basin Map Courtesy of Randy Thomas. Consensus seems to agree that the Upper part of Lake Anna is defined as the area above the Splits. This border is from just below Rose Valley to the State Park. The Middle is from the Splits to around the Power Plant, and the Lower is below the Power Plant. The Watershed (see map) …

First Frost/Freeze at Lake Anna

Michael EckertLake Anna Info, Lake Anna Weather

Now that we are solidly into the Fall Season, the next question is when will our first frost or freeze occur? The term “frost” is used in describing the process of ice accretion or deposit upon things outside when the air temperature drops to or below freezing (32 deg F or 0 deg C).   Frost is basically the cousin of …

Fall Foliage at Lake Anna

Michael EckertFeatured, Issue 113, Lake Anna Info, Lake Anna Weather, The Breeze™, The Breeze™ 2024

Autumn Equinox (Fall) officially arrived on September 22 this year. Our first taste of Fall actually arrived in August with the passage of the remnants of Hurricane Debby, which changed the overall pattern over the eastern US and ended the summer heat, putting a dent in the drought. This pattern change was a little earlier than usual and helped contribute …

The “Dog Days” of Summer

Michael EckertIssue 111, Lake Anna Weather, The Breeze™, The Breeze™ 2024

The term “Dog Days” is used during the normally hottest time of year in the Northern Hemisphere. This usually lasts from early July through the middle of August. It started a bit earlier than usual this summer. The period of 20 days either side of the conjunction of Sirius and the sun is called the “Dog Days”. The origins, of …

It’s Not the Heat, It’s the Humidity

Michael EckertIssue 110, Lake Anna Info, Lake Anna Weather, The Breeze™, The Breeze™ 2024

July into August are the hottest months of the year. Temperatures frequently peak in the 90s. On rare occasions, we experience temperatures at or above 100 degrees F. When high humidity is combined with the heat it can make for uncomfortable, and possibly dangerous, conditions. Heat-related illnesses and deaths can vary in the US every year. When we have prolonged …

Heatwave May Bring Heat Advisory this Weekend

Michael EckertFeatured, Lake Anna Weather

Starting Friday temperatures in the mid to upper 90s will be common through the weekend. Some increase in humidity will also occur. There is a small chance we could hit 100 on Sunday. The combination of heat and humidity will support heat indices, or what it feels like, in the lower 100s. The heat index is scientifically based on a …

‘Alberto’ to Kick Off “Above Average” Hurricane Season

Michael EckertIssue 109, Lake Anna Info, Lake Anna Weather, The Breeze™, The Breeze™ 2024

The 2024 forecast is calling for an “above-normal” hurricane season, which, unfortunately, doesn’t give us any specific intel about where they will make landfall. As the Atlantic hurricane season begins on June 1, the National Hurricane Center has released the names for this season’s tropical storms, including Alberto, Beryl, Chris and Debby, just to name a few. Hurricanes can bring …

Turn Around, Don’t Drown: Floods and Flash Floods

Michael EckertFeatured, Issue 108, Lake Anna Weather, The Breeze™

Heavy convective (thunderstorm) rainfall was my expertise for over half of my National Weather Service career. The technical term was called Quantitative Precipitation Forecasting (QPF), which in layman’s terms was trying to figure out how much rain would fall in a specific time period, in a specific location. The scope of our forecast area was the lower 48 states, including …