Blustery Monday

A low-pressure system tracking through the Great Lakes today and into New England will bring blustery winds to the Commonwealth from the Southwest at 15-25mph. Here is a snapshot of the surface at 2PM this afternoon:

The red shade is the warm air ahead of the cold front, associated with the surface low pressure in the Great Lakes. The pressure gradient associated with this low is pretty tight, which will lead to the sometimes blustery winds in Central Virginia today at 15-25mph. The strongest winds, though, will be closer to the Low, where Wind Advisories are in effect today across the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes. Winds in the warned regions will be 25-45mph, with some higher gusts possible.

In addition to the wind, there will be a slight chance for a few late afternoon and evening showers and storms east of I-95 and into Southeast Virginia. Because of all the wind shear, though, and the drier air rapidly moving into the state, storm chances are low.

As this system tracked through the Northern Plains Sunday, here are some of the max wind gusts reported:

North Dakota:

Dickinson 59 MPH
Hettinger 58MPH
Killdeer 56MPH
St Anthony 54MPH
Garrison 53MPH
Jamestown 53MPH
Williston 51MPH
Minot 51MPH
Watford city 50MPH
Bismarck 8N 50MPH
Minot AFB 49MPH
Bismarck Airport 48MPH

South Dakota:

Chamberlain 55 MPH

Huron 53 MPH

Madison 53 MPH

Yankton 48 MPH

Sioux Falls 47 MPH

Brookings 46 MPH

Mitchell 46 MPH

Minnesota:

Windom 45 MPH

Slayton 45 MPH

Marshall 44 MPH

Worthington 43 MPH

Pipestone 43 MPH

Jackson 39 MPH

Luverne 39 MPH

Iowa:

Spencer 46 MPH

Storm Lake 45 MPH

Le Mars 44 MPH

Orange City 44 MPH

Sheldon 43 MPH

Cherokee 40 MPH

Summer Recap

Although we are almost a week into fall, I want to briefly look back at this summer.

TEMPERATURES
First of all, temperatures were warmer than normal for most of the state. The same could be said for most of the Deep South and West Coast. However, it was an extremely cool summer for folks in the Midwest, especially in Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota and the Dakotas.



RAINFALL
Although some parts of the Commonwealth experienced wetter than normal conditions, most of central Virginia was below normal for rainfall. It was also dry in South Carolina, Georgia and especially Texas. Most of New England and parts of the Midwest experienced a wet summer.

Showers Linger This Morning

A couple showers are still moving across the area this morning. These showers will quickly dissipate and most of Virginia will be dry by late morning. A stray shower could pop up north of I-64 this afternoon, but the chances are looking very slim.