There was a heck of a light show last night in the area with some very flashy thunderstorms blowing in from northern Virginia.  In fact there were a lot of reports of large hail and trees down over northern/western Virginia last night.  As the storms moved southeast they hit some drier air and lost the heating of the day.  They pretty much dried up by the time they got to Hampton. So while folks saw a lot of lightning north of the metro, they didn’t get much rain.  Pam in Gloucester had 1/8 of an inch.  Doris on the Lower Eastern Shore had 3/8 of an inch.  Don in Toano had barely anything.  The Southside and North Carolina were dry. 

Estimated Rain Totals

 These storms were just south of a cool front that eventually moved through Hampton Roads this morning.  When I came in to work the temperatures were near 70, but they dropped back to the lowmid 60s by the mid morning behind the front.  Today winds will be northwest and will produce a few gusts up to 25mph.  It should be a pretty nice day.  One negative besides the strong breeze is the pollen.  It is an 11 out of 12 today which is very high.  They don’t take the pollen count down at the Health Department any more, but typically a day that is high has about 700 to 1000 for a pollen count.  (Again…typically, but not always).  Other than that it will be mild, sunny, and breezy. 

Today's Forecast Map

Tonight will be much cooler than this morning.  Lows will drop to the mid-upper 40s.  The winds will die down and skies will be mostly clear.  Plus, with the dry air in place you can have a big difference in morning lows and afternoon highs.  Tomorrow the winds will be more out of the north/northeast.  So temperatures will manage mid 60s for highs with partly cloudy skies.  The models are still showing an overall dry weekend with only a few scattered showers and storms early on Saturday.  For my sake, I hope that doesn’t change.  I think some folks are ready to lynch the weatherman after the past several weekends of cold or wet weather (1 exception). 

Beyond that I see more warm weather into the middle of next week.  Perhaps even a few 80s returning.  Maybe I’ll play hookie next week.  Hmm any ideas for a good disguise? 

Meteorologist: Jeremy Wheeler