Yesterday Rafael became a hurricane in the Atlantic making it the 9th hurricane of the 2012 season.  This morning it had winds of 85 mph and it was moving to the north-northeast.  Rafael is quickly becoming influenced by some strong upper level winds that will keep steering it in its current direction.  These winds are out ahead of a strong cold front that quickly zoomed through Hampton Roads last night.  Rafael is expected to pass east of Bermuda, but some of the tropical storm force winds will probably move over the island.  Waves will also be high.  Our waves will increase over the next couple of days.  Surfers should be in for a treat, but watch for the higher threat for rip currents.

Cold Front And Rafael

Locally, the front brought us about a quarter to a half an inch of rain with a few spots (like Virginia Beach) getting a little more:

Estimated Rain Totals

Today the cool/dry air will remain in place.  We’ll have breezy north winds at 10-15mph with higher gusts near the shore.  Highs will be in the  mid 60s with a few upper 60s inland.  Tonight the winds will drop to 5-10mph and will be variable as high pressure builds in.  Dry air and clear skies will allow the temperatures to drop to the upper 40s with mid 40s inland.  We’ll warm up a bit tomorrow to the upper 60s to low 70s.  We’ll warm up even more Thursday and Friday (upper 70s).  The only chance for rain in the next 7 days will be Thursday night into Friday.  The timing of the rain has been changing.  So stay tuned to see if it moves again.

Meteorologist: Jeremy Wheeler