Not much going on in the weather realm around here. Warm and dry.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Storm Factoid Roundup
Where to begin... The light rain started here around 7pm Sunday night, with mostly light showers and drizzle. By 9-10pm, it really wound up. The main shield of precip finally centered right over our area and we got trained by heavy downpours and thunderstorms. I saw 2 thunderstorms last night. The lightning was fairly intense, about 1 strike every 3 minutes. At about 10:30-11pm we had a downpour that registered a rainfall rate of 6.73" per hour! That heavy rain continued through to dawn, then mostly showers with some heavier stuff. This was a massive system, stretching from the Florida Keys to the tip of Maine!
The numbers:
Total for storm: 1.94"
Highest rainfall rate: 6.73"/hr
Lowest pressure: 1004.2mb
Pressure drop: 1029mb Sunday am to 1008mb by midnight
Highest wind gust: 14mph
Rain total for March: 5.04"
Yearly total liquid precip: 10.41"
Well, get ready for a big warmup with temps in the 80's this week!
The numbers:
Total for storm: 1.94"
Highest rainfall rate: 6.73"/hr
Lowest pressure: 1004.2mb
Pressure drop: 1029mb Sunday am to 1008mb by midnight
Highest wind gust: 14mph
Rain total for March: 5.04"
Yearly total liquid precip: 10.41"
Well, get ready for a big warmup with temps in the 80's this week!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
5PM Update
5pm update. Radar is filing in fast as the system taps into the Gulf. Severe storms and heavy rain are being reported and head this way. Still saying 2.5" at least here.
Current surface map via TWC
Current surface map via TWC
Today-Tonight-Tomorrow
Well, looks like a big rain maker is on our doorsteps. The system is swirling away to the east in Tenn. now. It should suck in Gulf moisture and wrap that up this way tonight. Embedded t-storms could cause locally heavy rain. 4 inches isn't out of the questions for some areas. We should get a good dumping tonight, 1"+, and 2" tomorrow. Keep an eye on the radar Radar
Forecasts:
Accuweather-3.32"
NWS-1.75 to 2.75"
TWC-1-3"
Me-2.25-2.75" for the metro
Forecasts:
Accuweather-3.32"
NWS-1.75 to 2.75"
TWC-1-3"
Me-2.25-2.75" for the metro
Friday, March 26, 2010
Weather Event 3/25-3/26
Well, the storm didn't quite pack the punch I thought, it did drop around .75-1" of rain across metro RIC. Here in western C'field, I got .84" total. The rain moved in around 3am and was showery with local downpours around 4am and 10am. The pressure bottomed out at 999 mb. The temps fell all day, from 59 at 1am to 39 at 5pm. One interesting note, some local mets called for clearing and sunshine by afternoon! Were they crazy? Any amateur could look at the movement and radar and see the precip filling out fast...
A few notes about the graphs: look at when the temp starts dropping, the winds shift, and when the pressure bottoms and then skyrockets.
A few notes about the graphs: look at when the temp starts dropping, the winds shift, and when the pressure bottoms and then skyrockets.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
This Week
Yesterday's system was a bit of a bust for me. In western Chesterfield, we got .98", which I did call for. The rest of the area averaged .3-.5". Still not bad.
As a side note, Atlanta and points south saw snow showers!
The next system moves in Thursday. I think it will bring more widespread rain to the area, with .5"-1" around here. The temps will drop from 62 to 32 by night, a big drop!
Word of the Day: Virga: Precipitation aloft that does not fall to the surface because the dry air evaporates it. That is why the radar shows some light showers overhead occasionally, but nothing is falling.
More on the storm and maps soon. Stay tuned!
As a side note, Atlanta and points south saw snow showers!
The next system moves in Thursday. I think it will bring more widespread rain to the area, with .5"-1" around here. The temps will drop from 62 to 32 by night, a big drop!
Word of the Day: Virga: Precipitation aloft that does not fall to the surface because the dry air evaporates it. That is why the radar shows some light showers overhead occasionally, but nothing is falling.
More on the storm and maps soon. Stay tuned!
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Weather Event for 3/21-3/23
Well, looks like we'll get a substantial rainfall event, with higher amount in the embedded t-storm. A side note: just east of Dallas has 6 inches of snow!
Here is the system as of 5pm Sunday. We'll get initial banding from the south until it bombs out off NC. The we'll see the t-storms. I say .75 to 1.25 of rain. 1 inch being the norm across metro Ric. More updates as the event starts.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Spring is here!
The Spring Equinox ushers in a new season. Last Winter was GREAT, but, it's time for Spring. More updates on the coming Monday system that could bring T-Storms.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
March 13, 2010: 1st Thunderstorm of Spring
The start of spring has officially begun! The first storm to roll across metro Richmond occurred this evening around 10:00 - 10:20 PM. It brought heavy rain (rain rates of upwards of 0.8"/hour) with some occasional lightening and thunder. About 0.36" of rain was recorded in Church Hill. The temperature remained around 52-53 degrees during the storm. Pretty cool reading for an unexpected evening storm.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
March 2, 2010 Snow Event
Below are a couple of photos from the snow event last night in Church Hill. Since there was some light accumulation on the cars and grassy surfaces, I'm tallying 0.1" towards the season's total snowfall. The snow accumulation melted around midnight when the temperature bounced well above 32 degrees.
February 2010: North Church Hill Weather Summary
Attached is the North Church Hill weather summary for February 2010. Below are few selected observations for the month:- The mean temperature reading for the month was 36.7. This was colder than the January 2010 reading of 37.3.
- The maximum recorded high temperature for the month was 64.5. The minimum temperature for the month was 16.5.
- Precipitation was slightly below average, recording 2.90" of liquid precipitation (about -0.26" below average).
Monday, March 1, 2010
March 2-3, 2010 Storm Prediction
The radar this evening for the impending storm is look quite impressive and strong along the gulf coast. I have a feeling that tomorrow morning we will have a better handle on this system in terms of its intensity and whether rain will be mixing in (or even be the predominate rain type). With the data I've seen so far, I feel confident will see some snow tomorrow night into Wednesday, possibly enough to warrant a Winter Weather Advisory for Metro Richmond. I expect Winter Storm Warnings to go up for southeast Virginia tonight or into tomorrow morning. I'm definitely more bullish on southeast Virginia getting hammered on this storm system.
Richmond: 3-4"
Alexandria: T-1"
Blacksburg: 1-2"
Charlottesville: T-1"
Franklin: 7-8"
Norfolk: 4-5"
Roanoke:1-2"
Suffolk: 7-8"
Virginia Beach: 3-4"
Forecast for March 2nd-3rd Storm (Russ' Take)
With some models predicting 18-24 for Hampton Roads...I dunno...I say .25" of rain, then 2-5" of slushy snow for Metro RIC, more snow west of downtown (like me in Woodlake :-D)...JD seems to think temps will not fall below 32*. If that's true, then 1-3" total. If temps fall faster and get to around 28-30, then 3-5" for us. I don't think Eastern VA will see any accumulating snow, just rain, with wet snow mixed in at times... maybe a slushy .25". So, my official forecast as of NOW is light rain by 2-4pm Tuesday, then mix by 6-8pm, then snow by 8-11pm. Temps will fall from 41 to 36ish by precip onset, then slowly fall to 32 and hover at 32 all night. I could be wrong and hope I am, but it doesn't look good for big snow...
Ryan? Your forecast?
Ryan? Your forecast?
Russ' Weather Station Has Relocated
I have moved from Brandermill to Woodlake in Western Chesterfield County, VA. The new location is depicted on my Weather Underground Station Page
The physical location of the station peripherals (main station with rain gauge, and temp/humidity sensors, and the anemometer and wind vane) have been placed in better locations as well. The main station is about 4 feet off the ground on a platform in an open area. The anemometer is attached to the eave of the roof. This will hopefully give more precise readings.
Please bookmark the new station site at Weather Underground KVAMIDLO11
And don't forget to bookmark the Davis Weatherlink Site for my station
Thanks,
ru55
The physical location of the station peripherals (main station with rain gauge, and temp/humidity sensors, and the anemometer and wind vane) have been placed in better locations as well. The main station is about 4 feet off the ground on a platform in an open area. The anemometer is attached to the eave of the roof. This will hopefully give more precise readings.
Please bookmark the new station site at Weather Underground KVAMIDLO11
And don't forget to bookmark the Davis Weatherlink Site for my station
Thanks,
ru55
Friday, February 26, 2010
February Snow Events
Below are links to some photographs I took of the February 6th and February 9th, 2010 snow events.
It's also interesting to note that the quick burst of wrap around snow we received on February 9th was also responsible for reports of snow-thunder in the Richmond Metro area. I personally did not hear any thunder, but the rapid rate of snow fall from this event was amazing (nearly 4" in about 3-3.5 hours time).
January 2010: New Records
For the month of January, three records were established for the North Church Hill observation point.
- New Lowest Recorded Temperature: 12.8 on January 31st (The morning after the snow storm that occurred on January 30th)
- New Highest Recorded Wind Gust: 29 MPH on January 28th
- First day to record a high below 32 degrees
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
My Crappy MSPaint Take on the Rain vs. Snow Issue
It's archaic, but this somewhat describes why we sometimes see all snow, a mix, or all rain. It highly depends on the temp about 100-1000 feet above the ground.
The higher up the 32 degree line is and larger span it crosses, the more ice and rain we see. The closer the 32* (or lower) line is to the surface, the more snow we see.
Summary for 2009: North Church Hill
Attached to the left is my summary data for 2009 (North Church Hill). While there were a few technical difficulties in gathering my data (Late April through Early June), a good portion of the year is summarized in the document below.Enjoy!
Just a hunch....
Keep an eye on March 2nd-4th... My hunch? I'm usually optimistic for snow, but I think IF we do see a storm head this way, it will be mainly rain...Temps just seem too high for an all snow event...Sad, I know. I think our winter, as far as wintry weather, is over...other than maybe a few slushy inches next week...But hey, it was a good winter by RIC standards. Any season with over 6" is great for us.
Meh...Right on that dreaded r/s line...
Meh...Right on that dreaded r/s line...Wednesday, February 17, 2010
January 25, 2010 Winter Storm: Church Hill Perspective
Lowest pressure reading: 1014.42 hPa
Lowest temperature reading: 12.8 Degrees Farenheit (Morning of 1/31/2010)
Total Snowfall: 12.25"
To date, the lowest pressure reading for this storm was not substantial. My current record for the lowest barometric pressure reading goes to a storm that passed by on April 3, 2009 (987.80 hPa) This storm however marked a new record low for my observation site. This was also the largest snowfall recorded at my location since living in Church Hill (since November 2007).
Photos:
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Thoughts and Observations 2/14/2010
Hmmmmm, I suppose today is Valentine's Day... Meh ;-) I'm currently single, so luckily I won't be spending tons of money on gifts and an overpriced diner, hehe. I hope all the couples out there do have a good time tonight. Also, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MOM AND POPS!
Anyways, let me discuss my weather watching equipment, techniques, and sources. I own a Davis Vantage Pro2 wireless weather station. The outdoor unit has a large rain gauge, an anemometer with a wind vane, a radiation shield covering a temperature sensor and a humidity sensor, and a transponder with a solar panel for power (and it also has a battery backup). The console is located in my bedroom connected to a wireless router/modem (Verizon FiOS). The console displays all data recieved from the outdoor unit, such as current outdoor and indoor temp, outdoor and indoor humidity, outdoor dewpoint, windchill, heat index, wind speed and direction, wind gust, 10 min. avg speed, barometric pressure with trend, rain total, rain rate, rain totals for the current storm, the month, and the year, current sky conditions, moon phase, sunrise/sunset time. You can check highs and lows for each reading for the day, month, year, and all time. You can also set alarms for each reading, for example, you could set the alarm to go off when the outdoor temp hits 100*, or when the wind gusts to 30 mph or more, or for when it starts registering rain. It also gives you a general 12 hour forecast based on pressure trends, temp trends, dewpoint trends, and wind speed and direction. All very very cool.
To get the most out of the Vantage Pro2, you need the Weather Link IP and software. This is a device connected to the console, which allows you to connect the console to your home network via ethernet cable. The ethernet cable is conected to your router, which does 2 things. First, after you install the software on your computer, the software will find the station on your home network so you can download all of the data collected on the console (which archives data for several weeks worth of readings) and you can set the time interval at which the console records and stores readings. Every 15 minutes is what I use. On a side note, the readings on the console itself are updated every 3 seconds to 1 minute. Once you download the archived data to you pc, you can use the software to create reports for a week, a month, or a year. You can export the data into an excel spreadsheet to create a complete record of all of the readings at 15 minute intervals. From this, you can determine all time highs and lows (for a week, a month, a year, since you bought it...), make charts and graphs, look for trends, the list goes on and on.
The second thing the Weather Link IP does is use the connection to the router to transmit the data to a website that shows your readings, updated every minute. The website can be accessed anywhere on any computer with an internet conection. The site is Weather Link Home Page . From here, you create a profile and a station name (mine is 'smearedblackink') and you get your own page dedicated to your station with unlimited access and constant updates. My station site is my station site . From the site, you can also view a global map that pinpoints every station on the network and you can see their data as well. There is no fee either, just the one time purchase of the weather Link IP for around $195.
An example of how I can use it during or before a storm, is that I can watch the wind speed and direction (telling me if warm southerly or cool northerly winds are blowing). I can watch the pressure to see if the low is getting closer/stronger by watching the trend and how fast it is falling. I can compare the actual temp to the dewpoint, to see if it is too dry to start snowing, and if the temp will drop enough as the air moistens to allow snow to fall, as the actual temp moves toward the dewpoint temp, and how much the temp will drop as the air moistens and evapotranspiration occurs.
Right now, I have almost a year's worth of data (bought it and set it up on March 26th, 2009). The simple text file for all of that data is 2.7 megabytes! The excel spreadsheet has 20,673 rows and 28 columns of data categories! Wow! That is a lot of info. But, the weather link software allows you to export reports for an individual month, or year, and the reports can be done to show the daily statistics, rather than an entry for every 15 minutes. It also can break the data down and give stats on a particular month.
That's all for now. I'll update my thoughts on the impending storm for tomorrow and Tuesday.
Current Wx Observations: 4:53PM 2/14/2010
Temp: 42*
Wind: NNE 1 mph
Humidity: 39%
Dewpoint: 18*
Barometer: 1006.5 mb Steady
Precip: None
Sky Condition: Clear
12 Hour Forecast: Mostly Cloudy, Snow Possible in 12 hours
Anyways, let me discuss my weather watching equipment, techniques, and sources. I own a Davis Vantage Pro2 wireless weather station. The outdoor unit has a large rain gauge, an anemometer with a wind vane, a radiation shield covering a temperature sensor and a humidity sensor, and a transponder with a solar panel for power (and it also has a battery backup). The console is located in my bedroom connected to a wireless router/modem (Verizon FiOS). The console displays all data recieved from the outdoor unit, such as current outdoor and indoor temp, outdoor and indoor humidity, outdoor dewpoint, windchill, heat index, wind speed and direction, wind gust, 10 min. avg speed, barometric pressure with trend, rain total, rain rate, rain totals for the current storm, the month, and the year, current sky conditions, moon phase, sunrise/sunset time. You can check highs and lows for each reading for the day, month, year, and all time. You can also set alarms for each reading, for example, you could set the alarm to go off when the outdoor temp hits 100*, or when the wind gusts to 30 mph or more, or for when it starts registering rain. It also gives you a general 12 hour forecast based on pressure trends, temp trends, dewpoint trends, and wind speed and direction. All very very cool.
To get the most out of the Vantage Pro2, you need the Weather Link IP and software. This is a device connected to the console, which allows you to connect the console to your home network via ethernet cable. The ethernet cable is conected to your router, which does 2 things. First, after you install the software on your computer, the software will find the station on your home network so you can download all of the data collected on the console (which archives data for several weeks worth of readings) and you can set the time interval at which the console records and stores readings. Every 15 minutes is what I use. On a side note, the readings on the console itself are updated every 3 seconds to 1 minute. Once you download the archived data to you pc, you can use the software to create reports for a week, a month, or a year. You can export the data into an excel spreadsheet to create a complete record of all of the readings at 15 minute intervals. From this, you can determine all time highs and lows (for a week, a month, a year, since you bought it...), make charts and graphs, look for trends, the list goes on and on.
The second thing the Weather Link IP does is use the connection to the router to transmit the data to a website that shows your readings, updated every minute. The website can be accessed anywhere on any computer with an internet conection. The site is Weather Link Home Page . From here, you create a profile and a station name (mine is 'smearedblackink') and you get your own page dedicated to your station with unlimited access and constant updates. My station site is my station site . From the site, you can also view a global map that pinpoints every station on the network and you can see their data as well. There is no fee either, just the one time purchase of the weather Link IP for around $195.
An example of how I can use it during or before a storm, is that I can watch the wind speed and direction (telling me if warm southerly or cool northerly winds are blowing). I can watch the pressure to see if the low is getting closer/stronger by watching the trend and how fast it is falling. I can compare the actual temp to the dewpoint, to see if it is too dry to start snowing, and if the temp will drop enough as the air moistens to allow snow to fall, as the actual temp moves toward the dewpoint temp, and how much the temp will drop as the air moistens and evapotranspiration occurs.
Right now, I have almost a year's worth of data (bought it and set it up on March 26th, 2009). The simple text file for all of that data is 2.7 megabytes! The excel spreadsheet has 20,673 rows and 28 columns of data categories! Wow! That is a lot of info. But, the weather link software allows you to export reports for an individual month, or year, and the reports can be done to show the daily statistics, rather than an entry for every 15 minutes. It also can break the data down and give stats on a particular month.
That's all for now. I'll update my thoughts on the impending storm for tomorrow and Tuesday.
Current Wx Observations: 4:53PM 2/14/2010
Temp: 42*
Wind: NNE 1 mph
Humidity: 39%
Dewpoint: 18*
Barometer: 1006.5 mb Steady
Precip: None
Sky Condition: Clear
12 Hour Forecast: Mostly Cloudy, Snow Possible in 12 hours
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Grand Opening
Welcome to my amateur take on all things weather, and my musings of local weather events in the Richmond Metro area. I must forewarn you that I LOVE snow. That's an understatement actually. I think they are some of the more interesting event to watch develop and take shape. And, snow is just beautiful and fascinating.
To start, I will have entries for the December 18-19 2009 snowstorm, and the January 29-30 2010 storm, as well as the February 5-7 "Blizzard of 2010" and the disappointing effect it had on us. I will also shortly discuss Feb 9-10 event. I will preface our next storm on the 15th. In between storm discussions, I will reflect upon past snowstorms in Richmond, mainly the 1993 "Superstorm", the "Blizzard of 96", The Jan 2000 storm, the March 2009 surprise and a few other minor ones.
Lots of photos, videos, maps, etc coming soon! Stay tuned!
-ru55
To start, I will have entries for the December 18-19 2009 snowstorm, and the January 29-30 2010 storm, as well as the February 5-7 "Blizzard of 2010" and the disappointing effect it had on us. I will also shortly discuss Feb 9-10 event. I will preface our next storm on the 15th. In between storm discussions, I will reflect upon past snowstorms in Richmond, mainly the 1993 "Superstorm", the "Blizzard of 96", The Jan 2000 storm, the March 2009 surprise and a few other minor ones.
Lots of photos, videos, maps, etc coming soon! Stay tuned!
-ru55
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