Tracking Richmond's First Chance of Snow

It looks fairly certain we'll finish up December 2011 without a trace of snow, something we haven't seen since 2006. The pattern looks like it could finally make a big shift in early January, bringing much colder air, and possibly the first snowflakes of the season to the area. The various models solutions continue to hint at both colder and snowier weather for the area during the period of January 2nd-7th. Model reliability is typically poor that far ahead, and there have been many departures from the cold solution over the past couple of days. What has drawn my eye has been the persistent signal of a deep and very cold trough digging into the eastern U.S. in response to a negative shift in the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). The European Model has been pretty consistent over the past few runs will the colder air, while the GFS has flip-flopped a couple of times and can't seem to settle on a particular pattern for early January. Most recently, and perhaps the most alarming, is the loose agreement of a full-blown Nor'easter on January 5th. We'll certainly see some changes in the solutions over the next few days, and what is there today, could very easily be gone tomorrow. From the signals I've seen over the past several days though, winter could finally make an appearance during the first week of 2012. Check back for another update. -Zach

Cold Temps This Weekend

Last Total Lunar Eclipse Until 2014 On Saturday Morning

The last Total Lunar Eclipse until 2014 will occur this Saturday morning, favoring viewers all along the Pacific Rim, including the Western U.S. However, those of us on the East Coast will not be able to see this eclipse because our moonset time is before the eclipse begins. The first hints of the "red shadow" will not be visible until 7:45 AM EST.
(Click here to see a map of where the eclipse will be visible in the World).
In Richmond, the moon sets Saturday morning at 7:12 AM, about the time the Sun rises at 7:13 AM. So even if we could see some of that initial shadow being cast by the Earth onto the Moon, it will be nearly impossible to see because of the Dawn.

On the West Coast, though, the Moon will enter "totality" of the eclipse at 6:05 AM PST (which is 9:05 AM EST, well after we can't see the Moon anymore on the East Coast). West Coasters will see a pre-sunrise eclipse of beautiful proportions. Atmospheric scientist Richard Keen of the University of Colorado predicts, "I expect this eclipse to be bright orange, or even copper-colored, with a possible hint of turquoise at the edge." The reason why these colors hue the Moon from our perspective here on Earth is because of our own stratosphere. As the Moon's light is scattered through the Earth's atmosphere back to our eyes, the light waves that "survive" the scattering are reddish.

Watch this NASA video to learn more:


Because we will miss watching the eclipse on the East Coast, you can click here to watch this animation demonstrating what it will look like to our western neighbors.

--Meteorologist Carrie Rose