Cold Front Coming Thursday

A cold front will move through the Commonwealth later Thursday, ushering in a much less humid air mass to the region for Friday. Morning temperatures across the state Friday should fall into the 60's, a rare treat this July when only a handful of mornings have made it that low. Here are the only days Richmond reported low temperatures below 70 degrees, a couple of them just barely there:

July 27: 69 degrees

July 11: 69 degrees

July 5: 66 degrees

July 4: 61 degrees

July 3: 56 degrees

July 2: 58 degrees
July 1: 63 degrees

Through Wednesday, our average July temperature (82.9 degrees F) is still hotter than the hottest July currently on record, 1993 (82.4 degrees F). We've still got three days to maintain that top spot before the end of the month!

Ridge Flattens Just Enough For Some Relief

Our weather this summer has been largely governed by an upper-level pattern that has kept the storm track and all associated cool fronts north of the area. This ridge has finally flattened just enough to bring a couple of cool fronts into the area. The first arrived Sunday night, the second will arrive Thursday afternoon, and we'll get a third over the weekend. This pattern will keep lows and highs fairly close to seasonal averages over the next 5 to 7 days. There is some indication, however, of the ridge building back in next week, resulting in another stretch of above-normal temps.

Summer Night Sky Show

Have you been cooped up indoors the past few days because of the dangerous heat? Well after last night's cool front, high temperatures this week will stay in the low- to mid-90's. Although this is still hot, the plus-side of our hotter-than-normal Summer is that evenings can be comfortably warm for outdoor activities. No sweater (or sweat) required! And tonight is one of those nights where skies should be mostly clear and temperatures in the 80's after sunset at 8:24 p.m. in Richmond. The just-past Full Moon will rise at 8:40 p.m. in the East, so looking West, your view will be excellent of several planets aligned:

(Image: SpaceWeather.com)
This alignment will shift a little over the next week, but still provide great viewing of the planets, so keep looking west after sunset when the skies are clear.