Weather! Tell me what you want, what you really really want

75, mostly clear in the morning, with rain changing to snow later, total accumulation 10 feet. Double rainbow in the afternoon. Got it! There’s your forecast. Enjoy the rest of the week! Ok, not really.

January 19, 2011; 2:25 AM • by Weather Dan

I posted the following on Twitter earlier:

Tired and I have a 9am class tomorrow. Crowdsourcing tonight’s forecast: tell me what you want to see and I’ll write it.

“10 feet of snow and work closed down forever.”
“72, sunny with a light breeze. Double rainbow in the afternoon.”
“78, low humidity and sunny”
“cold November rain”
“snooooowwwww”
“Sunshine and 75 degrees”
“sonnenschein und 15°C is ok for me” (from a friend of mine currently living on the Baltic coast of Germany – roughly translated, she’d like sunshine and temperatures around 60 degrees Fahrenheit)

Ok, 75, mostly clear in the morning, with rain changing to snow later, total accumulation 10 feet. Double rainbow in the afternoon. Got it! There’s your forecast. Enjoy the rest of the week!

Ok, not really. In actuality, the next week or so looks like it will be a busy period, with a new system crossing the state every few days.

The primary issue Wednesday morning will be patchy areas of dense fog; if you’re out in the morning, remember to use the low beams and slow down. High pressure will build in through the afternoon as the cold front and associated low responsible for Monday night’s icing and Tuesday night’s light rain finally moves offshore. Temps Wednesday will climb into the 50s, giving a somewhat brief, but balmy break to the brisk weather of late. Expect some clouds to linger through the day, but on the whole, conditions should improve to at least partly sunny by sunset, with partly cloudy conditions continuing through the overnight and into Thursday. Overnight lows will drop into the low 30s.

For Thursday, expect a bit more of the same, but with some cooler temperatures. Partly cloudy conditions will persist through noon, and highs will climb into the mid 40s. Clouds will begin to build in again Thursday afternoon as the next weak disturbance develops and crosses the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys Thursday, dropping several inches of snow west of the Appalachians. Right now this system looks to be mostly dry for Richmond, with less than an inch of total measurable precipitation. The setup isn’t exactly the same as what we saw earlier this week, but we could see similar precipitation as a result, including some light snowfall. It’s not going to be a significant event by any means, but depending on the timing of the system, it could certainly pose a nuisance for either Thursday evening and/or Friday morning rush. Take an umbrella with you on Thursday just to be safe.

The next system I’ve got my eye on looks to impact the city next Monday night and Tuesday. I’m going to be in Seattle this weekend for the annual American Meteorological Society student conference, but I’ll have a very late-night update over the weekend as well.

January 19, 2011 2:25 AM 2