Perfect pairing of the Moon and Jupiter this Friday morning!

The Moon and Jupiter are "hanging out" often lately in the night sky, and this Friday morning, they're perfectly paired closer to each other than most mornings so far this week. Visibility is great across the majority of central Virginia because of clearing skies overnight behind yesterday's strong cold front. If you can before sunrise at 6:52 a.m., look for the Moon and the bright, steady light just to its left. That light is the planet Jupiter!

Here is the sky-map looking Southwest from Richmond of the pairing shortly after 6:15, when I took the video below.

And here's that video I shot at the same time from outside the CBS 6 studios on West Broad Street:

If you missed this viewing opportunity this morning, don't worry, there will be other opportunities to see the two clearly in the night sky over the next week (just not this weekend because of cloud-cover). Learn more about this celestial pairing by clicking here.
--Meteorologist Carrie Rose

First Fall cold front arrives today

A seasonably strong Fall cold front arrives in central Virginia today. As of this update, the front is already moving through the Valley of western Virginia, with dense fog and light rain, as well as cooler temperatures moving in behind the front. Here is the surface observation picture as the cold front is just moving into the Valley:

Temperatures to our northwest are already in the 40s and 50s this morning behind the front, and that's where we'll be Friday morning!

As for today, though, the rest of us in Virginia will see the increasing cloud-cover from the west through the first half of the day, with the front clearing the state to the southeast by sunset. Expect scattered showers and thunderstorms along and behind the front this afternoon and evening in most of central Virginia, with overcast skies and cooler temperatures. High temperatures Friday and Saturday will remain cooler-than-normal for mid-September in the 60s (average highs for those dates: 81 degrees). As for morning low temperatures, we'll be noticeably cooler in the 40s and low 50s, so it's safe to turn off the A/C and open the windows! A word of caution, though...mold spores are an issue right now after recent heavy rainfall, and if you have an allergic reaction to mold, you don't want to open all the windows and let the mold spores indoors. In addition, it's ragweed season, and if you're allergic to that, keep the windows closed! If you do open windows through the weekend with cooler temperatures, then you WILL need to keep running that A/C to filter your in-house air and remove the invading allergens.

Nevertheless! Enjoy the first taste of Fall through this weekend!
--Meteorologist Carrie Rose

Did You See Jupiter Last Night?

If not, don't worry, you can see it again tonight and for many nights over the next few months. More often than not, Jupiter is one of the brightest objects in the sky, and it's current magnitude of -2.7 makes it the brightest object in the Virginia night sky other than the moon. Jupiter will appear as a bright star to the naked eye, but a strong pair of binoculars or a backyard telescope will reveal the yellowish sphere and several of Jupiter's largest moons. To find the planet, look to the ENE after 9 PM. It will rise higher in the sky throughout the evening and overnight hours. Check it out! -Zach