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 …
Photo: Periodical cicada broods of the United States and emergence timeline (Courtesy: USDA Forest Service) As temperatures climb to 64 or 65 degrees Fahrenheit, typically in mid-to-late May, Virginians eagerly anticipate the emergence of cicadas—a familiar symphony of harmless winged wonders renowned for their deafening chorus and periodic mass appearances. While excitement brews over the impending “Cicadapocalypse” in Virginia, there’s no …
April 8, 2024 will be a once in a lifetime event for many people in the USA. A total Solar Eclipse will shroud parts of the county in the shadow of the Moon. The massive shadow, called the Umbra, will be about 100 miles wide. Those under the path of the Umbra will experience several minutes of twilight, during totality, …
As Winter fades in the rearview mirror, we need to turn our attention to the upcoming season. In 2023 we actually had very little severe thunderstorm activity, due to the drought. So, what will 2024 bring?Usually, exiting an El Nino winter results in a slightly lower threat for severe thunderstorms, including tornadoes, hail and strong winds. But, so far this …
Tuesday morning the National Weather Service (NWS) issued a Fire Weather Watch for the region, for Wednesday. A watch means critical fire weather conditions are possible but not imminent or occurring. Later Tuesday the watch was upgraded to a Red Flag Warning for the region. Conditions on Wednesday are expected to be supportive of critical fire weather patterns. This means that the relative humidity …
As we begin our seasonal transition to warmer weather, several people have asked about when it’s safe to bring their boats out of winter hibernation. This is a tricky question as every boat and their cooling systems are different. Also, where the boat is kept (on/off water) can be another variable. I can’t answer those questions, but I can provide …
Weather instruments are the tools a meteorologist uses to sample the many different aspects of the atmosphere. Some instruments like thermometers and wind vanes are widely known, but there are others that are not. Most of our instruments date back to ancient Greece. The word “metron” means, “to measure” in Greek. That’s where we get the “meter” part of many …
January 2024 will go down as a month of big temperature swings, along with near record precipitation. After all the winter and warmth, January ended up close to what January is supposed to feel like. The month started off with fairly normal temperatures, then mother nature said it’s time for winter, with a series of days well below normal. The …
Welcome to February, the month where we start a slow warming process as we move into the Spring season, but also a month where we still can get big snowstorms. High temperature averages start in the middle 40s, but rise into the lower 50s by the end of the month. It’s a pleasure to join the Lake Anna Breeze™ team. …
Lake Anna’s first decent snowfall since the storm of Jan 2022. A pretty consistent range of 2-3” for much of the area. (Snowfall courtesy of CoCoRaHS – https://www.cocorahs.org/Maps/) This storm was due to what meteorologists called “overrunning”. This happens when a frontal boundary is stalled just south of an area, with cold air to the north and warm air south …
