Weather! Mild start to meteorological summer

Cooler air returns to Virginia for the start of meteorological summer, as overcast skies and a chance of rain come into the forecast for the beginning of the week.

June 4, 2012; 12:15 PM • by Weather Dan

Calmer weather has returned to the Mid-Atlantic after what was a very active severe weather day on Friday. The National Weather Service in Wakefield has confirmed two tornadoes in eastern Virginia: an EF-1 in Hampton and an EF-0 near Petersburg that injured 5 and brought down numerous large trees and damaged several homes. Officials in Hampton estimate the tornado has caused more than $4 million in damage.

Meteorological summer began on June 1; it’s defined as the three statistically warmest months of the year, ending on August 31. We’re sitting in a bit of a weird pattern this week. While a nearly-stationary cold front hangs out over the southeastern states, Virginia sits firmly in the middle ground between an area of low pressure situated off the Atlantic coast and a weak high up near Hudson Bay in Canada. This is probably the meteorological equivalent of straddling the fence. We’re cool and relatively calm to start the week, but neither perfectly calm not really warm.

Monday: Partly cloudy skies this morning will thin out a little bit today, and temperatures will peak in the low 80s. A stray shower or two may pop up this evening, but we should remain dry otherwise. Lows slide into the upper 50s under continued partly cloudy skies.

Tuesday: Cloud cover increases through the day, resulting in overcast skies and much cooler temperatures. Our old friend “the wedge” (otherwise known as cold air damming) returns, bringing with it a high near 70 and a good chance for showers for most of the middle of the week. Look for light rain on and off through the day. Temperatures fall back into the upper 50s Tuesday night with continued overcast skies.

Wednesday: With cold air firmly wedged against the Appalachians to the west, we get another cool, overcast day with scattered, intermittent showers. Temperatures again peak in the lower 70s, and fall back into the upper 50s overnight.

Overcast conditions will last through Thursday, when they finally begin to erode later Thursday and Friday. Warmer temperatures return for the weekend, with highs back near 80 by Friday. High pressure over the Mid-Atlantic will keep us relatively clear and severe-weather free through next Sunday.

June 4, 2012 12:15 PM 1