Sorry, sometimes my acquired occasional Southern accent comes out.  So I left the G out on purpose in the title.  The nontropical offshore system is expected to stay offshore.  We will have plenty of moisture around to give us some scattered showers today.  However, the focus for the heavy rain is now off of the Outer Banks.  There will be downpours offshore, and we may get a spot or two of moderate/heavy rain in the viewing area.  The forecast has been frustrating for my yard this week.  If you’ve seen the radar, then you know that we have had isolated to scattered showers (20-40% coverage) each day.  My house on the southside has only gotten a light shower or two.  We’re still down 1.9″ of rain for the month.  2.9″ for the year at Norfolk International.  Even with the wet June we had, we still need the rain to keep coming.   How are you faring out there  for rain?

Meteorologist: Jeremy Wheeler

We’re watching this set of thunderstorms dance (hence the title) off the Southeast coast of the United States.  It’s not forecast to be anything big (for now), but it is forecast to skirt our forecast area.  It may bring some very heavy rain to the Outer Banks.  Currently, that is our main concern.  At the time of this writing it is not labeled as a tropical system.  A weak area of low pressure is expected to either skirt the coast or stay just offshore.  If you want all the details on it, then go to our new tropical page and get all the skinny.  It is a great way to get all the info you need.  Sorry if I sound like a car commercial, but I really think we have a great hurricane page.  Just follow the link:  http://www.wavy.com/subindex/weather/hurricane

One big highlight is Stormpulse.  Just click on the stormpulse tab, and you will be able to use a great interactive tool for following storms.  I’ll write more tomorrow as soon as I can.

Meteorologist: Jeremy Wheeler

As you hit the highway with music blaring and a 64-ounce drink at your side, just remember, that rest stop you used to visit likely will be dark.  You’ll have to do your business elsewhere.

That’s because VDOT has closed 18 rest areas around Virginia.  Those budget cuts at work again.

Here’s a portion of the official news release.  And, get ready, travelers.  There are more closures to come.

The 18 rest areas slated to close include:

• I-81 North Rural Retreat
• I-81 South Smyth
• I-81 North Radford
• I-81 South Troutville
• I-81 North Mt. Sidney
• I-81 South Mt. Sidney
• I-81 South New Market
• I-95 North Ladysmith
• I-95 South Ladysmith
• I-95 North Dale City (cars)
• I-95 South Dale City (cars)
• I-66 East Manassas
• I-64 East Goochland
• I-64 West Goochland
• I-85 North Dinwiddie
• I-85 South Dinwiddie
• I-85 North Alberta
• I-85 South Alberta

VDOT will operate the I-66 West Manassas Welcome Center through the summer travel season, since it was the only welcome center impacted by these closures. VDOT will close the I-66 Welcome Center on Sept. 16, following the busy summer travel season.

A map of the affected rest areas is available at http://www.virginiadot.org/news/resources/Statewide/19_SRAWC_Closures.pdf. To learn more detail about VDOT’s service reductions, visit http://www.virginiadot.org/newsroom/default.asp#blueprint

With children in tow, I remember stopping at that rest stop along I-64 in Goochland many times.  What a great resource for weary parents and restless kids.  I get it.  The closures are a sign of these difficult times.  I just have to remember now to give the kids lots and lots of juice *after* the trip is over.  Safe travels!

Many of our pets enjoy spending time outdoors during the summer months.  As long as they have plenty of water, shade, play time and nap time, they’re usually happy.  But sometimes pests can interfere.  Ticks, spiders, bees, mosquitoes, fleas, etc are out in full force right now.  We know how we can protect ourselves with bug repellent and citronella candles, but let’s not forget about our furry friends.  I do the “Pet of the Week” segment on WAVY-TV and have a genuine love for animals and their well-being.

If you haven’t thought about parasite prevention for your pet, now would be a good time to start.  Fleas can cause some bad diseases in your pet such as cat scratch fever and tapeworms.  Fleas also can irritate your pet’s skin causing him/her to scratch the itchy skin continuously.  Ticks can carry Lyme Disease and other less known diseases.  Infected mosquitoes can transmit heartworms to both cats and dogs.  Heartworms can survive in your pet’s lungs, heart, and blood vessels.  Even indoor pets are at risk of mosquitoes because these pesky critters like to sneak inside buildings and can actually survive quite well indoors.  Other internal parasites like hookworms, roundworms, and whipworms can also infect your pets causing them gastrointestinal problems: kittens and puppies are most susceptible  to these parasites.

To keep your pet healthy during the summer months, talk with your veterinarian about parasite prevention.  If you have a story you’d like to share about how you keep your pet safe and cool during the summer months, let me know.  I’d love to see your pet pictures too.  Feel free to send me an email at cheryl.nelson@wavy.com

Meteorologist Cheryl Nelson

Dancing lights in a dark sky…shades of green, red and blue.  Pillars of light that last for minutes, sometimes even hours.  The Northern Lights, aka “aurora borealis” are breathtaking to witness.  I’ve seen them twice: once when I was driving up Interstate 81 north of Syracuse on a dark night with a new moon.  The other time, I drove out to the country in Upstate New York, pulled over near someone’s farm and watched the sky in pure amazement.  In the northern hemisphere, auroras are most common in the northern latitudes, such as Canada, Alaska, Greenland, the extreme northern part of the U.S., Siberia and Scandinavia.  Auroras are most common in the winter and usually peak around midnight. 

For more information on auroras, check out this link: 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090719194337.htm

Have you witnessed the Northern Lights?  If so, let us know your story.  Thanks!

Meteorologist Cheryl Nelson

We haven’t heard much lately about the hole in the Ozone Layer; that’s because the problem has largely been corrected. The invention of refrigeration and air conditioning had unintended consequences when refrigerant chemicals (chlorofluorocarbons) leaked into the atmosphere and began destroying the Ozone Layer at an alarming rate. The problem has largely been corrected by the substitution of hydrofluorocarbons as refrigerants.

It’s becoming likely that we’ll have to find a replacement for the replacement. It seems that hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) act as a “super greenhouse gas”, with a heat-trapping power 4,740 times more effective than carbon dioxide. Here’s a rundown on the latest from the Washington Post.

Two environmental crises have been successfully averted in recent decades–Acid Rain and Ozone Layer destruction. The ongoing Global Climate Change threat is bigger and much more affected by human activity. The potential solutions are also bigger and will obviously involve human lifestyle changes. But there are also silver linings in the search for clean, renewable energy–among them national security, energy self-sufficiency, huge economic profit for successful innovation, and the satisfaction of leaving our children a better future.

If you check out our 7-day forecast, we have a chance for scattered showers and storms in the forecast just about each day.  This is because of a quasi-stationary front that will meander back and forth across the eastern seaboard through the week. 

The front will act as a focal point for scattered showers and thunderstorms.  It will also be on the humid side.  Just because there is a chance for showers and storms in the forecast doesn’t necessarily mean that the rain will fall at your house in particular.  It just means that somewhere in our viewing area there will be showers and thunderstorms.  Let’s hope the rain gets evenly distributed across our region throughout the week so our yards and gardens can all enjoy a bit of rain.

Meteorologist Cheryl Nelson

I’m sure Stewart Cink has his share of fans, but even they were rooting for Tom Watson to win the British Open. How could anybody not want to see Watson pull off the improbable?

One would think that history will not be so kind to  Cink’s breakthrough victory at Turnberry. Lets face it, Watson was the story! And when he missed that 8 foot putt at 18, it seemed like he was done. The look on Watson’s face said it all. He knew he had lost the Open. Yes for the first time all week Tom Watson looked 59 year old. It was as if all the air in Scotland had vanished. When Watson’s feeble putt came up short and right of the hole, it meant new life for Cink who had time to compose himself and prepare for his victory march.

What a shame for Stewart Cink. He’s long been known as one of the nice guys on tour. But who could blame him. He began the day 3 shots behind Watson and at the end of the playoff, he was 6 strokes better. The great Hollywood finish was not to be for Tom Watson. Cink snuck in the back door to capture the senior moment.

But what a great Open championship. Great drama with an unlikely finish. Now that all have left Turnberry’s twisted shoreline, Watson’s name will not be added to the Claret Jug for a 6th time. Instead it reads Stewart Cink, 2009 champion. Not what the world wanted, but that’s just fine for Cink.

Here are the last photos I’ll show from Friday’s storms.  Here was a clear shot of lightning from Gary in Suffolk:

And check out this great photo from Matt around Lynnhaven Inlet.  It was taken Friday evening after the storms.  Cue the harp:

It should be a nice day for most of the area today.  However, we will see some storms over Northeast North Carolina (mostly over the Outer Banks).  This is the area closest to a stationary front.  This front will drift around a little over the next few days generally over our region.  Scattered showers and storms will occur along/near this boundary. 

Meteorologist: Jeremy Wheeler

Someone asked about sending in video.  You can send it in, but we’ve had some problems showing and looking at video.  Hopefully, that can get worked out soon.  Maybe we can even start posting some in the blog.  We’ll see.  Anyway, here’s a lighthearted scene from yesterday in Portsmouth:

Natalie sent this in.  Looks like the ducks are going to try to go for a swim in the street. 

Here’s another pic from Hampton.  I’ve been wondering if any damage occurred there.  This was sent in by Jim Baldwin:

As he said, luckily it fell away from the house. 

finally, with all the lightning we did have some trees that were hit as well as the houses and church mentioned in the previous blog.  this was sent in by Bonnie Poole in suffolk:

You can see the line where the bark was stripped or blown off the tree. 

On a sad note.  I’m checking out a report about a viewer in Gates that county lost 2 pet donkeys to lightning yesterday.  They sent us an email and we may have a reporter go and check out the sad story.  Again it was a busy day.  Check out the previous blogs for more photos and details. 

I’ve added the rain totals from yesterday.  Doris on the Eastern Shore only got a quarter of an inch.  Don in Toano got hardly anything.  But Mike in Whaleyville received 1.3″ of rain.

Meteorologist: Jeremy Wheeler