vastateofmind

Seriously. We had about 15 min of driving rain starting about an hour ago, and a gentle/steady rain since then (with blue sky now appearing in the west). We REALLY needed that around these parts.

I think you mean Jeremy Allen White? He is phenomenal in The Bear...which is why I imagine he's up for a gazillion awards on this show. For a fairly young man, the guy has serious acting chops on this show...which makes me want to watch Shameless now!

What an awesome location for a camera mount!!!

Quick PSA -- I was kinda bombarded over the past couple weeks with news, award alerts, etc. about a show on FX called The Bear. On a whim, my wife and I started streaming the show on Hulu over dinner last night (there are now two seasons)...and we PLOWED through the first half of season one just last night. SO damn good...great cast, witty writing, compelling scenario (set in an Italian beef takeout in Chicago, with the requisite family/interpersonal struggles). We haven't been sucked into a streaming show this quickly ever. The show's first episode is...chaotic...but stick with it. The hype is real, and I highly recommend it.

That cell that just went through Gainesville looks healthy...seems to be aiming directly at central/north FfxCo.

Enjoy your big day, @mappy, and I suppose keep doing whatever it is you're doing and ignore the numbers...as long your kid's classmates continue to call you "pretty."

Yep. Thank GOD most of the mets on local media warned folks to get their errands done by noon today. Several of you caught onto this potential evolution at mid-morning today...which is why I come here first for the critical details.

Returned home 30 min ago from a day of work at Belvoir, current reading at home is 89/69. Full sun again, midday cloud deck moving off the east.

Cloudy again, but currently 85/70 at Ft. Belvoir. Feels pretty gross out there.

Not snarky at all, spot-on! And yeah, folks do forget that we CAN get rough wx this time of year. I just heard my 4th or 5th round of hype on the radio and just turned it off...it's obviously a "me" problem. On a related note, I always like to check the Mt. Holly NWS team's discussion on days like this, as they typically lay out possible scenarios...and they don't disappoint this morning, taking a look at possibilities both north and south of their locale.

My expectations may be tempered by logical discussion happening here...or perhaps I'm more jaded from the experience of forecasted wx vs. what-actually-transpires wx in this region. But I'm finding the amount of hype and hyperbole that a few of the local radio/TV station mets are repeatedly pushing this A.M. regarding this afternoon's severe potential almost insufferable. I mean, they're making it sound worse than the derecho from the early 2010s...get all of your errands done before noon, rush hour will be a nightmare, tornado chances are strong, etc. Ugh. 77/70 with full sun and clear skies now at Fort Belvoir.

74/71 at Fort Belvoir right now...sun starting to break through, too.

Oh, FFS. Some NVSL volunteers today, I swear...they relish playing God on deck. Many don't know when to back down, and think they can simply get their way by badgering and shouting down the referee. And unfortuantely, I noticed this kind of behavior infecting the spectrum of youth sports, even when my two sons started soccer and football back in the "peewee" days of the late 1990s. I witnessed the absolute worst and most degenerate behavior in travel lacrosse leagues up/down the East Coast with my oldest in his mid-late HS years just before and just after 2010. The coaches, the parents, the PLAYERS....it all left a bad taste in HIS mouth, and while he went on to play in college, he pretty much "wound down" from HS and those league experiences, and never enjoyed the sport as much as he did in middle school and before...and unfortunately, never returned to the sport on even a recreational basis as an adult. THANKS, loudmouth/parents and coaches, for ruining sports for some players/participants for LIFE. But back to the topic of the day, THIS is the crap associated with NVSL that I absolutely do NOT miss. When my guys were most active in NVSL in the 2000s and early 2010s, I also noticed that many (forgive me) OLDER, grandparent-ish folks were still in charge of NVSL and running the show at the top level...and it was time for them to get the f*ck out and let some of the younger folks run the league, because of their "but we've ALWAYS done it this way" approach. Then again...do we want more folks of the type who call protests at every little referee call running the league at the top? It's a very tough call. Bottom line, I'm sorry that YOU, your FAMILY and your TEAM all had to end your meet that way yesterday...too many people forget it's supposed to be 1) for the KIDS, and 2) FUN. (Rant over...cranky old guy stepping away from the podium now. )

Gorgeous pic, I always LOVE to watch those towers form! That said, forecast this A.M. reduced our chances to just 20% isolated storms this afternoon, but we've been observing some impressive towers around us while sitting on the back patio. Radar just to our west seems to say (right now at least) we see better than a 20% chance as well. We'll see...

Always like to review returns on radar, and then confirm via "visual" results when looking out the front window to the southeast... Some impressive clouds/thunderheads all around us this afternoon. I think we miss out (again) this afternoon...but at least we got a bit of precip this past week to alleviate the thirsty grass/sod.

Welcome to the club! Wooooow....Weezer. I'd much rather see them than the next concert my good wife is dragging me to in early Aug....Eric Church. :/ Feeling you on this. We had a semi-steady, decently soaking rain at points yesterday...but I wouldn't mind getting under some of those returns for the sod I planted about six weeks ago. Okay...you had me at "old fashioned." I've known this for awhile, but you have impeccably good taste in beer...and mixed drinks.

Indeed. If I didn't know better, I'd say this radar screencap from a few minutes ago looked like a classic wintertime dry slot. Grey/black skies on either side of us, sunny overhead...we had some light showers around lunchtime but that's about it. Humidity is bad enough to slice like fudge. Time to stop worrying about the rain and/or storms and have an IPA...

This, bigtime. Based on radar at mid-morning....I (stupidly) did NOT water some of our new sod in the front yard thinking that we'd get under those bright yellows/oranges by midday. You'd think I'd learn by now. Of course, it all most fizzled out by the time it crossed east of I-95...I got all of five minutes of intermittent raindrops. Absolutely NOT holding out hope for those cells meagerly popping in western MD. Excuse me while I go out and water my very dry and mostly-drying sod.

Certainly got a lot darker out, but we've only received a few raindrops at 67 degrees...and radar makes it look like that's a wrap (at least for now).

You highlight two very critical must-have volunteers for efficient meets -- a knowledgeable/organized referee (newbies and experienced alike) who can keep the proceedings moving along at a steady pace, and a kickass clerk-of-course (preferably with runners/assistants!) who's not afraid to accost the coaches to get their swimmers to the staging area ON TIME, or chase down the swimmers themselves. As a former S&T judge, for about 15 years, I was always fortunate to work with awesome refs, starters and CoCs at our pool. Always encountered at least one "peacock referee" during a given season at an opponent's pool, but that's par for course. I've mentioned it before, but one of my favorite teams to compete with was @H2O's neighborhood pool, with whom we hold B meets each summer...his pool has some of the easiest and friendliest officials and families I've encountered in all of those NVSL years, with experienced officials, a comfy/spacious pool and surrounding grounds, and ALWAYS a great concession stand.

Truth. We laid down about 10 "squares" of sod about two months ago, to even up some garden beds in the front yard. I watered them religiously for two weeks straight and they took pretty well...but now at this point (along with the "regular" established grass in back/front yards), everything is starting to get that uniform, slightly-brown-from-underneath look to it. I expect that from patches in the yards...but I surely hate to lose that investment in the sod. Having said that -- we did get about a 45 minute soaker early afternoon, and we have intermittent light rain and some rumbles of thunder moving through now.

Was visiting friends at their cabin NW of Allentown, PA this past weekend...we had an HOUR, a whole HOUR...of rain on Friday afternoon up there. It was merely enough to create that ugly splotchy pattern in the pollen on my car...and it didn't alleviate the restriction for burning, so no bonfires. Was downright chilly on Friday nite up there, but beautiful yesterday and today...high 70s in the day, low 60s at night. Returning home today....90 degrees IMBY, but with a gorgeous breeze. So nice. Anyone experiencing a return of the smoke?

GOOD on you...volunteers are SO hard to come by. My wife and I served in almost all the NVSL volunteer lead positions...with hers culminating in swim rep for two season. (UGH!) Personally, as much a time-suck year-round club swimming could be, it was all worth it for the more "casual" summer swim season, where I could bounce back and forth between S&T judging (best seat in the house!) and serving as announcer (or more accurately, DJ Mikey Mike, when it came to playing the all-important MUSIC in between the official stuff ). NVSL can be a huge PITA sometimes...but it's offered even more rewarding perks off and on through the years, especially for developing camaraderie and friendships in your own neighborhood. In a teeny, tiny, itty-bitty way....I'm just a bit jealous of you and @H2O that you're still in the summer swim game.

Noticeably clearer for first time all week, no acrid stench outside either. Tempt got down to 55 and now on rebound...AQI at nearby Mt. Vernon is 97. Looks like things will improve a bit today on HRRR: https://hwp-viz.gsd.esrl.noaa.gov/smoke/index.html