1 Hour, 21 Minutes

Have you noticed that days are getting longer? The shortest day of winter was December 21 (Winter Solstice), where the sunrise was 7:21 AM and the sunset was 4:55 PM. Tomorrow sunrise will occur at 6:56 AM and sunset is scheduled for 5:51 PM.

So what is the total amount of daylight that we have gained since December 21? You guessed it - 1 hour and 21 minutes!

Pockets Of Flurries Moving Across The Area

There have been reports of isolated flurries this afternoon, especially in the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula. These flurries will quickly dissipate quickly after sunset and the rest of tonight will be clear.

Few Flurries Possible Monday Afternoon

Light snow showers and flurries continue to try to reach the ground Monday mid-day in much of Central Virginia. However, the precipitation is often evaporating before it can reach the ground, thanks to the dry air near the surface. Still, some flakes will make it all the way to the ground, but will not accumulate with temperatures well above freezing.

Winds are also a bit gusty Monday afternoon up to around 25 mph from the North. This is keeping wind chills about five to ten degrees below the actual air temperatures.

After looking at the latest data, it still appears likely that much of the Commonwealth will receive rain showers Wednesday. Best-case scenario for rain totals will run a quarter to near a half inch of rainfall, but will likely be less than that for most locations.

--Carrie--

Abnormally Dry With Fire Danger

A month and a half into 2009 and Virginia is running far enough behind on precipitation for the year to warrant “Abnormally Dry” conditions from the U.S. Drought Monitor in nearly the entire state. You can check the latest official Drought Monitor map here.

On average, Richmond has more than 5” of liquid precipitation by February 15. However 2009’s year to date total is only 1.59”.

Much of Virginia has a chance for rain coming up on Wednesday, but I do not expect totals to be particularly high. However, every little bit will help us chisel into the rainfall deficit right now. Remember with Abnormally Dry conditions, that fire danger will continue to be a problem. The Burn Ban went into effect Sunday, February 15, so be sure to check with your local government for burning regulations at this time. Fire season lasts through April 30 in Central Virginia.

--Carrie--

Monday Morning Quick Update

As Aaron mentioned Sunday evening in his blog posts, the air near the surface is quite dry. Even though we have had precipitation falling from this storm system, not much of it has made it to the ground overnight. As of 4 a.m., only the Virginia Beach area was reporting light snow and flurries. There are other scattered pockets of flurries making it to the ground in Central Virginia, but this is very light and melting shortly after falling because temperatures remain above freezing in most places.
--Carrie--