Weather! Midweek update
Tuesday’s high of 66 degrees was the highest in 2010 and the first time Richmond hit 66 degrees since December 9, 2009 – exactly three months ago, today. I hope everyone has been able to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather we’ve seen early this week, because after tomorrow it all comes crashing down.
Tuesday’s high of 66 degrees was the warmest so far in 2010 and the first time Richmond has hit 66 degrees since December 9, 2009 – exactly three months ago, today. I hope everyone has been able to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather we’ve seen early this week, because after tomorrow it all comes crashing down.
A potent low pressure system over the central plains is already kicking up some clouds over the area Tuesday evening, which should help keep temperatures from dropping too much Tuesday night. Lows will likely fall into the low 40s rather than the low 30s, which is good for me, because I neglected to bring a coat with me to school tonight.
This system also spawned two tornadoes on Monday in western Oklahoma.
Wednesday
More clouds tomorrow as the low pressure system slowly moves eastward over the Mississippi Valley and pulls in Gulf moisture. Temperatures tomorrow will depend on how much cloud cover we get, but several of the models put us at or over the magic 70-degree mark. Why is it magic? We haven’t seen 70 degrees since we hit 72 on November 29th last year. Increasing cloud cover will keep temperatures from getting too cold again Wednesday night; lows shouldn’t fall below the upper 40s. There’s a very small chance of a stray rain shower on Wednesday, but most of the rain, it not all, will hold off for another day.
Thursday and Friday
Rain showers will begin in earnest on Thursday, making for a dreary end to the week. Temperatures both days should modulate from the low 50s at night to the mid 60s during the day. We’re going to be lucky in one regard, since the snowpack across the region is all but entirely gone, aside from the stray snow pile here and there. This eliminates a large flash flooding risk for the area; however, there is still a decent amount of snow across the mountains of West Virginia. If they see a lot of heavy rain over the next few days, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some very swollen rivers and streams in the region. Rain should modulate on and off through both days, with some periods of heavy rain showers as some strong bands of rain pass through the area.
Long term, this low pressure system is likely to keep the chance of rain in the forecast through the weekend. Temperatures will moderate some through the weekend, hovering in the mid-50s as long as the clouds and rain stick around.
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Weather Dan
Dan Goff is now a two-time former Richmonder, having departed the River City yet again in favor of southwest Virginia, where he is working on degrees in geography and meteorology at Virginia Tech. Have a question about the weather or weather-related phenomena?
Notice: Comments that are not conducive to an interesting and thoughtful conversation may be removed at the editor’s discretion.
Question! (in my best Dwight Schrute voice)
Why is RIC the default weather station for the area? It’s in a less densely populated area and seems to receive different amounts of precip and have different temps than the rest of the metro area.
BTW, love this new section. You answer a lot of the questions the TV meteorologists don’t have time to address. Case in point, I saw @AndrewFreiden mention 70+ temps today and wondered when the last 70-degree day was. He didn’t respond to my telepathic inquiry on the air.
Keep it up.
Andrew, I’m going to hold on to this and address it in a future “Ask Weather Dan” post, if you don’t mind. There’s actually a bit of history behind this – there also used to be a weather reporting location at Chimborazo Park in the City – and I don’t think a brief writeup in the comments will do it justice.
Thanks for the kind words!
Also, everyone!
I don’t know how I forgot to mention it in the post, so I’m mentioning it here.
SPRING FORWARD THIS WEEKEND
It’s time to set your clocks ahead, again. 2:00am Sunday morning. Also, check the batteries in your smoke/carbon monoxide detector(s) and your NOAA Weather Radio, if you have one.
thanks for the reminder about the daylight savings time thing. i hate it, but it’s good to be on the same time as everybody else.
I really love this column. Thanks for taking the time to write it, Dan!
Thank you all for taking the time to read it! I enjoy writing it very much, and its that much more worthwhile to know that people are reading it and getting some value out of it.
I’ve already gotten some great ‘Ask Weather Dan’ questions – please keep them coming (and look for the first installment soon)!