WAVY.com Blogs » rain

2009 One of the Wettest Years on Record!

Cheryl Nelson — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 13:24:38 +0000

2009 will go down in the record books as one of the wettest years on record reported at Norfolk International Airport. In 2009, we received 64.66″ of precipitation. In a “normal” year we receive 45.74″ of precipitation. Here is the list of our top four wettest years:

YEAR PRECIPITATION

1889 70.72″

1877 69.14″

1979 64.96″

2009 64.66″

Meteorologist Cheryl Nelson

Last Nice Day for a While…

Cheryl Nelson — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:40:56 +0000

After some patchy dense fog in spots this morning, skies will become mostly sunny today. It’ll be warm too with highs in the lower to middle 70s. Enjoy today because it will be the last nice day for a while. Expect clouds, rain showers and windy conditions late Wednesday into Saturday morning. A possible coastal storm will keep our weather quite unsettled through the rest of the work-week. Temperatures will be drastically cooler with high temperatures only in the 50s.

Meteorologist Cheryl Nelson

“Somewhere Over the Rainbow…”

Cheryl Nelson — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 11:33:01 +0000

Yesterday was the 70th anniversary of “The Wizard of Oz.” Special screenings of the movie in high definition were shown and sold out across the country. How appropriate that we had a rainbow yesterday! With all the moisture in the atmosphere, showers and some sunshine there was a rainbow.

Rainbow in the Deep Creek section of Chesapeake (from Cindy)

We could see more rainbows later today. With all the moisture in place, some sunshine and the risk for showers and thunderstorms, you never know. Carry your umbrella today in case you get under one of those shower or storms. Otherwise it will be warm and humid!

Meteorologist Cheryl Nelson

Another Day of Record Rainfall

Cheryl Nelson — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 23:15:38 +0000

Labor Day was a washout…

The first day of school for many students was a washout…

A rainfall record was set for today at Norfolk Int’l Airport: 3.51″. The two day rainfall total for Norfolk Int’l Airport is 5.67″ and still climbing.

Will the sun return soon? Probably not for a couple more days. A pesky area of low pressure off the North Carolina coast will hover for the next couple of days. While the heaviest axis of rain should shift to our northwest, we’ll still have to contend with some drizzle and showers from time to time. Additionally a strong pressure gradient between an area of high pressure well to the north and low pressure off the coast will create strong winds. Gale warnings are posted for the seas and the bay by late Wednesday. A coastal flood advisory is posted for minor tidal flooding for Wednesday and Thursday. Tides will run 1-1.5 ft above normal tonight (next high tide 10:30 PM-12:30 AM) and 1-2 ft above normal Wednesday and Thursday. Please move your car if you park in a low-lying flood prone area. With the clouds, drizzle and persistent onshore flow, temperatures will remain on the cool side in the 70s. This pattern should start to break just in time for the weekend. Fingers crossed!

Meteorologist Cheryl Nelson

Umbrella and a Jacket?!

Cheryl Nelson — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 23:35:12 +0000

Get ready for a taste of fall! A cold front moved through Hampton Roads today and cooler air is filtering in behind it. Temperatures on Monday will likely hold in the middle 70s.

At the same time, an area of low pressure is riding up along that cold front (which is now becoming stationary over northeast North Carolina). That low pressure system will bring us rain mainly after midnight through Monday. The steadiest rain will be found across North Carolina with occasional showers farther to the north. The winds will kick up as well. Expect NE winds 10-25 mph with higher gusts. Tides will run about 1 foot above normal Monday evening through Wednesday.

For the first time in a long time, make sure you have both your umbrella and a jacket on Monday.

Monday's Forecast Map

Meteorologist Cheryl Nelson

N.C. Washout Last Night

Cheryl Nelson — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 21:34:05 +0000

Showers and thunderstorms blossomed along a frontal boundary across Northern North Carolina last night. Localized flash flooding was a problem with some areas receiving 3-4+ inches of rain overnight. To the north across much of Virginia things were pretty quiet with only a few isolated showers and thunderstorms.

Clouds have been slow to exit our region today. Parts of the Peninsula and points north enjoyed some sunshine, but many of us saw mostly cloudy skies. Skies will clear out overnight settting us up for a lot of sunshine on Tuesday.

Have a great night.

Meteorologist Cheryl Nelson

A Mixed Bag of Everything

Cheryl Nelson — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 02:48:35 +0000

Rainbows. Sun. Clouds. Rain showers. Thunder. Lightning. Hail. Even some wind. Whew!

A pesky area of low pressure has been spinning off the New England coast over the past couple of days. Every now and then impulses rotate counter-clockwise around that low pressure system. One of those impulses moved over Hampton Roads this evening just before the sun set. At the same time, a cold pool of air was overhead… you combine cold air aloft with energy and the heating of the day…and boom: showers all of a sudden become thunderstorms. Some storms briefly became severe. Hail was reported in parts of North Carolina.

There will still be a few showers and thunderstorms around tonight, but with the loss of daytime heating (sun setting), the overall trend will be for showers and storms to weaken tonight. As a result of the rain that fell today, there will be areas of patchy fog tonight into Tuesday morning.

Thank you to all the WAVY-TV and Fox 43 viewers for sending their photos to photos@wavy.com. By the way, if you could resize your pictures to be less than 1 MB before you send them that would be great! Thank you!

Here are just a few pictures that we received today.

From Mario in Hampton

From Elizabeth in Elizabeth City

From Michael in York County

Meteorologist Cheryl Nelson

This One is for the Dogs

Cheryl Nelson — Mon, 18 May 2009 20:53:12 +0000

After a wet 36 hours for many of us, improvement is on the way. Look for more sunshine Tuesday and Wednesday with gradually warming temperatures (after a chilly night tonight).

Thanks to Barb and Bruce for sending us these pictures from Kill Devil Hills. The pictures show the “OBX Beach Boxers,” Kody (left) and Daisy. 7.00″ of rain has fallen in Colington Harbour over the past two weeks!

Cute dogs!

Meteorologist Cheryl Nelson