Strong Aftershock Rocks Central Virginia

A magnitude 3.2 aftershock occurred at 6:39 PM this evening 5 miles south of Louisa and was felt across much of central Virginia. This aftershock was one of the strongest since the original quake back in August. I've been getting a lot of questions on my facebook page about these aftershocks, and specifically when we can call them a new earthquake. Technically, all of these aftershocks are earthquakes, but we call them aftershocks because they are smaller earthquakes associated with the larger seismic event (the 5.8 magnitude quake). If an aftershock is stronger than the original earthquake, it will be deemed the main quake, and all subsequent seismic activity will be referred to as foreshocks. Here's hoping tonight's was the last of them, but I doubt it. -Zach

Be Careful What You Wish For

I'm a big fan of severe and unusual weather, and find myself always looking forward to the next big storm. I'll never wish for anything that would cause loss of life or widespread property damage, but a good thunderstorm or winter weather event challenges and fascinates the scientist in me. I just returned to Virginia two nights ago from spending a week visiting my in-laws, and on the flight out of Richmond last Saturday, I got what I wished for. Flying with three children ages four and under is no picnic even with no delays, and my wife and I now have a new level of airline stress by which to measure future flights. We were able to get everyone on the plane and in their seats with relative ease, and aside from the constant raising and lowering of tray tables and pushing the flight attendant call button, the kids were behaving pretty well. After waiting on the tarmac for about 15 minutes, the pilot made an announcement that the freezing rain we had been having in Richmond required deicing the aircraft, and we'd have to wait about 30 more minutes for the process to be completed. We finally taxied and took off after the delay on the ground and made our way to Oklahoma City, with a stop in Atlanta. The flight from Richmond to Atlanta is a short one, usually about an hour in the air, but after an hour had passed we were still cruising along at altitude. The pilot then made another announcement confirming my suspicion that something wasn't right, informing us that the Atlanta airport had just shut down due to severe thunderstorms, and we'd be circling until further notice. We circled for about an hour before landing, and were treated to turbulence that rivals even the best Busch Gardens has to offer. Once on the ground, the fun continued with another two hours of delays as severe storms which prompted tornado warnings continued to hammer the airport. (Keep in mind, this is January.) My son was overly tired from missing his nap and somehow ended up running shirtless down the middle of concourse C in the worlds busiest airport. We finally boarded our connecting flight to Oklahoma City and arrived a mere three and a half hours later than scheduled, being treated to a fine dose of winter and spring weather. The second flight was thankfully pretty smooth, and aside from taking a bath in a large cup of iced apple juice that my daughter dumped in my lap, I couldn't complain. So the next time I wish for a little crazy weather, I'll remember this day, and will be very careful of exactly what I'm wishing for. It's good to be back home in Virginia. Have a great week! -Zach

Rain and thunderstorms are likely early Friday

A broad low pressure storm system that has a history of producing severe weather and heavy rainfall from Texas into the Southeast U.S. will reach Virginia in the pre-dawn hours of Friday. Here's a view of the upper level vorticity reaching the Appalachian spine by Friday sunrise:

Thursday, southerly flow into the Mid-Atlantic ahead of the system tracking into the Ohio River Valley is transporting richer low-level moisture. This means that there will be greater instability present overnight into Friday morning once the upper-level lift arrives in addition to the approaching surface cold front. In purple, you'll see some relatively "weak" CAPE (an indicator of instability for thunderstorm development) reaching into central Virginia:

Therefore, a Slight Risk for severe thunderstorms will exist for the areas in yellow on this map, including extreme south-central Virginia:

Even if most of the Commonwealth technically does not have storms that reach severe limits, the rain and storms moving through pre-dawn Friday morning from west to east will likely contain gusty winds and heavy downpours. As of right now, the timing of that line's arrival in western Virginia is around 2-3 a.m. Friday, and affecting the I-95 region by 5-7 a.m. Rain should end in Richmond after 9 a.m., with rapidly clearing skies behind the surface cold front's passage late Friday morning. All of the Commonwealth will be dry by mid-afternoon Friday behind the cold front.

I'll be in early Friday morning monitoring the line of rain and storms as they track into central Virginia. If you're on Facebook, be sure to "Like" my page for updates there. You can also follow me on Twitter @SouthernRedRose.

Stay with CBS 6, we'll keep you ahead of the storm.
--Meteorologist Carrie Rose