vastateofmind

Sage advice above, from an experienced pro/old hand in NVSL...especially the part about the "special water." Usually those bump-ups in team size happen gradually...I hated B meets for that reason when we first got involved, but if you get enough experienced officials and on-deck volunteers and (perhaps most importantly) FILL THOSE LANES on every blow of the whistle, it can go pretty quickly. After free and back, of course... See? Y'all already getting too damn efficient! And I always loved to see the records made (and old records fall!) during this point of the season over the years...not just for my own sons, but to see the younger swimmers especially work their arses off and to see the sheer joy on their faces when they drop their times!

Seems like. I was in that ole familiar "DC split." Anyone have thoughts on later action, moving east out of WV?

Moving this over to banter, and I know this gets asked from time to time, but....which wx station do you have? I'm really jonesing to replace the one I had IMBY years ago and just haven't gotten around to it.

Same here....downright oppressive. There was a bit of a split in radar last hour, when northern MD and central VA seemed to be cashing in the most, but it's filling in more now and we might get in on some of the action next 1-2 hours.

Storm just blew up (literally) within past 20 min, between Dale City and Springfield. Heaviest rain we've had all week as nearly all other storms missed us. Can't hardly see across the street right now...and this doesn't seem like it's moving much at all on radar, maybe meandering east a bit. (EDIT: The storm "rained itself out" within another 20 min of posting this then disappeared from radar altogether!) I'm sure this heavy rain will linger and ruin our chances of bigger storms later...because I just staged the mower, the weed whacker and yard blower on the patio to knock out all of the lawns over the next hour. FML. #NoLawnMowingForMeToday

Dumb question...is that the I-895 "toll" bridge? If so, I think I've only ever crossed that bridge, as opposed to driving on the road underneath it...

#Truth. Warning just came through. And increasingly hearing a ton of thunder associated with that cell.

GREAT pic!!

This first round by no means meets severe criteria....but we are getting a good steady, but not too hard, soaking rain out of it. Good Lord, the lawns need it. And yeah, I finished the last 10 min mowing the front lawn in the increasingly steady rain, but it's worth it....glad to get this!

So, Baltimore to Bel Air has done pretty well the last day or two, haven't they? At least...that's what I thought I saw on radar in past 48 hours.

I noticed this kind of "variable" atmospheric movement yesterday afternoon/evening, after we had the big clearing (during the actual STW).

Dude, you are KILLING it with these on-the-road photos!!!!

You all have the right attitude. And you highlight an interesting phenomenon...I've observed a couple families from our own pool in years past, who volunteered to the hilt for swim team...and whose kids hardly showed up for swim season. It was honestly annoying and frustrating, because they felt they earned a "travel pass," and could do whatever the hell they wanted to. Fine. As I've mentioned, if my sons made the commitment to summer swim, and I made them honor it, for every A/B meet they were eligible for. As my guys aged, the oldest considered summer swim to be more of a "conditioning" activity for his first loves in HS sports (e.g., LAX, football, X-country, etc.) but he showed up for all of the meets he was eligible for...even though he wasn't always a top scorer. Our younger son was a different story, and he's the one that "took off" in swimming as a little guy and onward -- not just in NVSL, but in NCAP, and also for his HS team at the state level. He still holds a few individual/relay records at our neighborhood pool and at Hayfield Secondary, and is still on perhaps a butterfly/relay list or two for NVSL records, although he's certainly dropping "down the list" as younger/faster swimmers excel in NVSL. And yet...there were parents 10-15 years ago, and even today who felt/feel the need to criticize and say things like: "Who the hell is that kid? Why is that name all over our pool's record board?!?" "OMG, that family...they are such swimming attention whores!" "My kid is TOTALLY gonna kill that 10+ year old record!" These are REAL comments, heard first-hand or second-hand from a couple neighbors who are still pool members and who I trust implicitly. To all of these small, small people I say -- if you want your kid to excel at swim, summer league or otherwise, and to earn the records that (apparently) mean so much to you? HAVE YOUR KIDS SHOW UP TO EFFING SWIM. It's just that simple. My kids weren't seeking glory and attention...they made a commitment, and their mother and I made them honor it. But, if the glory and attention and records are what drives families today, then by all means go for it. Just don't bitch if you and your kids aren't there on deck most of the time, at practices and at meets...and then you're all butt-hurt because your kid's name isn't on a pool's record board.

96/71 IMBY currently. Clear blue sky right now, but that Warrenton cell is taking a direct bead on us here in SE FfxCo, so we'll see....think I I can just see the storm moving in on horizon. Gonna run out quick to do one last front yard mow to last through tomorrow...clover has been thick as thieves this year.

Yeah, the temps/DP have been impressive today. Currently 89/73, blue skies and a beautiful breeze. I'll take it!

Arguably, the best part are the breezes left in the wake of the small cells that went to our NE. Soooo nice sitting in backyard right now, under the clearest/bluest skies we've had all day.

LOL, good call...maybe a better call than LWX! Seeing that you're describing on radar, and it seems to be heading direct for Alexandia City (just to my north). Interestingly enough, I'm currently observing cumulus, at seemingly different levels, heading in at least three different directions over my patio at the moment...see, I mouthed off about the forecast, ran out and set up the patio/backyard, and I'm probably going to eat my words within the hour.

Seriously. Not sure what LWX is looking at (or smoking), but they need to adjust fire on their current forecast, at least for SE FfxCo. Sure, I could see several cell(s) potentially popping on radar before and just after sunset, especially since we're clearing out here a lot more right now, but...yeah, radar is a ghost town right now.

You inadvertently brought out a great point. Fair warning, and grumpy old dude opinion forthcoming -- if your kids sign up for summer swim season, here's a fresh idea....how about you (not LITERALLY you, mattie) and your family NOT taking your friggin' family vacations until AUGUST, so that your kids can be there to swim for all or at least most A/B swim meets?? Do these cavalier families ever stop to think about what issues this causes for coaches and team reps who are trying to actively seed the heats for all of these meets? (The answer is "no," and they don't care.) I can honestly say that for every single year that my two sons were part of our NVSL summer swim team (probably a 12-year timespan) our family did NOT take family vacations during the NVSL swim season. I'm not patting "us" on the back, but I did stress to my sons...if you make the commitment to swim for the neighborhood pool, you damn well better show up to swim for every meet for which you're eligible. Our team had dozens of families that signed up multiple kids to swim throughout the summer season...and then ended up being there for, like, THREE total meets due to their overstacked travel schedules and other sports commitments. I mean, seriously, why bother?? Sorry (not sorry) if that offends some folks, but summer swim is a commitment just like any other sport.

Seriously. I'm tired of all of the threats of "heavy rain!" and "thunderstorms!" in the forecast....just not seeing it verify on radar, and anything of consequence on radar is already E/NE of us. I should've gone with my gut earlier and uncovered all of the patio furniture so we could, despite warmer temps/higher humidity, hang out there today....in fact, going out to uncover everything right now, and thumbing my nose at the LWX's scarily-worded forecast for tonight.

Your post couldn't be more timely. We had our every-six-month HVAC check done today....and $2,700 later, we need to have a UV light cleaning system installed, our heat pump refrigerant "restored/recharged," and perhaps most important, our blower rotor cleaned. The amount of "filth" on the rotor was way more stacked up than it's ever been before, and the air filter in the HVAC? Very greyish/black. When I asked the tech if the late-May/early-June wildfire crap had anything to do with that soiling, he said, "Absolutely, yes...have seen it in dozens of other customers." I usually monitor our HVAC filters for dog hair....but didn't think it would be this ruined in less than a month. Good Lord. Stay apprised of your HVAC status, folks....this sh*t can get expensive.

Thx for sharing...that's a very usable tool, as good as PurpleAir's map (maybe even a bit easier).

Currently 60/60. And yeah, AQ visibly and literally stinks right now. AQI at Mt. Vernon is at 167 and continues rising. LWX says S/SW flow might kick in during afternoon to scour some of it out. So much for enjoying the only two likely rain-free days this week.

Yes, can definitely smell it now, and yeah it has an odd, chlorine-y odor right now...couldn't smell it all this morning. Numbers on the rise quickly at Mt. Vernon station. Haziness has been lowering as well. Ugh. Can we just be done with this crap...