There is not much that can go wrong with the forecast for the next few days as high pressure located very close to our area will maintain mostly sunny skies and very warm to hot temperatures. The atmosphere will be capped for the most part, so despite the heat and humidity, the chance of thunderstorms will be very low. Of course, there could be an isolated storm in some spots but those will be the exception, not the rule. Afternoon temperatures will be the hottest away from the water as sea breezes should provide some relief along the coastal areas. The extended forecast has a cold front moving through later in the week providing some relief from the heat. At the present time, forecasters don’t think that we will see much thunderstorm activity from the cold front, but I’m hoping that changes as we get closer. If my neighborhood does not receive rain by mid-night tomorrow (Tuesday), the total May rainfall will be 0.90 inches, which is very bad for this crucial month smack in the middle of the growing season. Farms in southern Va. Beach have to be hurting. That’s it for now. Try to stay cool during this pre-summer heat wave. Thanks for reading and have a great Memorial Day. Make sure you think about those that have made the ultimate sacrifice for this great nation.

Yesterday (Saturday), I watched the cumulonimbus clouds build hoping for a shower to provide much needed water to my parched Virginia Beach neighborhood but as time went on, I noticed that the stable onshore flow was inhibiting development near the water. (I live about 4-5 miles from the ocean). The only shower activity occurred over some inland areas. The same thing may happen again today, but to a much lesser degree according to forecasters and it should be confined to North Carolina. Rain chances stay rather low (less than 20%) for the next few days. The rainfall deficit grows for the year and it is probably approaching 8 or 9 inches in my neighborhood. The deficit is around 6 inches at ORF as that area around the airport has seen some rainfall over the past week or so.  As the high pressure ridge builds into the region, so will the heat. Temperatures should be around 90 or above in many inland spots away from the water. Coastal areas will be slightly cooler from sea breezes. Those same sea breezes may cause a shower or thunderstorm in spots, but overall, dry weather is expected. A cold front is expected to approach the region later this week bringing an end to the hot conditions. Models differ on how much, if any, rainfall will be associated with the cold front. I’ll have an update on Monday, Memorial Day. Thanks for reading and have a great day!

After a wild start to the work week in Hampton Roads, the weather has quieted down and Memorial Day Weekend looks like the relatively quiet weather will continue. There is only a slight chance of a shower/storm on Saturday and cloudiness will be around at times. Sunday and Monday look sunny, warm and dry. Although some areas received appreciable rainfall from the storms that rolled through, my Virginia Beach neighborhood picked up very little rainfall. About a quarter of an inch fell in my backyard this week, while some areas of Hampton Roads picked up much more than that. What about that windstorm that blasted through the area earlier this week? I can’t recall seeing winds associated with a thunderstorm that strong and widespread since moving to Virginia Beach 13 years ago. The winds almost blew a tractor trailer off of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. Numerous trees were uprooted or damaged. Power was knocked out for many. There was even some structural damage reported. High pressure is going to slowly build into the region Sunday through Tuesday keep us sunny and dry. (Note that when I say “dry”, I’m referring to precipitation, not humidity levels. Humidity will be moderate throughout the period. On Wednesday, an approaching cold front may bring us our next chance of a shower/storm. Temperatures should come down later in the week. So, for those of us that haven’t received much rain this month, there is still very little hope in the near future. Thanks for reading and have a great holiday weekend. I’ll have an update on Sunday.

As a high pressure takes up residence off of the Southeast Coast, our winds will eventually become south to southwesterly, which will bring in warmer air. Temperatures by mid-week should peak out in the upper-80’s. The 90 degree mark will not be out of reach, especially in the inland locations. For those of us who have not needed air conditioning, our stretch may be coming to an end. It has been great to just open up the windows and let the fresh air in. A weak cold front may bring a shower or thunderstorm on Monday, but odds are, most of us won’t see much rainfall. That is unfortunate since there are areas of Southeastern Virginia and Northeastern North Carolina that have not received much rain in the past month or so. For some of these areas the rainfall deficit must be approaching 7 inches. The Hampton Roads official recording station (Norfolk Int’l Airport) did receive some rain this past Wednesday, so you cannot go by the numbers there. The wildfire in North Carolina is an indicator of just how dry it has been. The next chance of rain won’t come until Saturday as it looks now. Thanks for reading and have a great day.

The upper-level low pressure system that has brought the unsettled weather to the Mid-Atlantic states this past week has finally moved away. While some parts of Southeastern Virginia received much needed rainfall, my Virginia Beach neighborhood did not pick up much rainfall at all. Since the low pressure system began to affect our region, only about one third of an inch of rain fell in my backyard. Most of it fell last Saturday (May 14). Wednesday was incredible as most of Hampton Roads received beneficial rainfall. I just missed out on that. Some storms that day caused hail, strong wind gusts, very intense lightning strikes, and heavy rainfall. My neighborhood just received a few drops of rain. The weather pattern that is going to set up over the next several days should bring summer-like conditions to Hampton Roads next week. A Bermuda High will cause a southwesterly flow which should cause temperatures to reach into the mid to upper 80’s next week. What about the chances of rain? Well, computer models have recently indicated that there may be an isolated shower or thunderstorm from late Sunday through Monday. There is not much a chance here in Hampton Roads but it is possible in some spots. Then, we really start to warm up and it won’t be until Friday or next weekend before our next more significant chance of rain as a cold front approaches. I checked the Climate Prediction Center’s forecast for the period beginning next weekend and it does indicate that we might see above normal precipitation. That would be very good news for the areas that did not receive that much rainfall over the last few weeks. Parts of North Carolina just south of Hampton Roads have been extremely dry of late, which has led to the wild fires that have plagued some areas down there.  Enjoy the weekend and thanks for reading.