Space Station Viewing Tonight

A great International Space Station viewing will occur tonight in Richmond from about 5:29-5:34 p.m. Just look Northwest to Southeast as the ISS passes directly overhead. Look for a bright white dot moving smoothly across the sky (at about 17,227 mph!). The ISS orbits the Earth 15.7 times per day at an altitude between 173 mi and 286 mi.

A few clouds may occasionally obscure your view of the Space Station, but skies will generally be clear enough to spot the light this evening. If you want to find the specific viewing opportunity for your location, click here.

Rainfall Overnight

Showers and thunderstorms moved through the state overnight with a strong cold frontal passage, and produced around an inch of rain in spots. Here are some totals:
Mostly sunny skies are expected the rest of Black Friday, with winds picking up from the Northwest at 15-25mph, gusting to 30mph at times. Skies will remain clear overnight with weakening winds, allowing temperatures in Central Virginia to fall into the low-30s with spots around freezing early Saturday morning.

Zach's Winter Outlook 2009-2010

In case you missed Zach's Winter Outlook for 2009-2010 Wednesday night, here are the details:

*Above normal temperatures & near-normal precipitation.

*More snow than last Winter, but still below normal.

*More ice this Winter than in recent years.

One of the main factors in the last statement is that the pattern setting up appears to have high pressure centered over New England. Low-level cold air thus moves south down the east side of the Appalachians right over Central Virginia. With moisture from the Atlantic and Southeast overriding that cold air, this is a perfect setup for significant ice storms. This should, therefore, lead to more ice this Winter than in the recent past.

SNOW: 9" predicted, most of which should come from one Nor'easter

ICE: Several minor ice events, with one significant ice storm

TEMPS: Above normal, with six days in the 70s in December, January, and February