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8.13-8.15 rain and storm event


Ian

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Yep, about to water the lawn again here in Boyce.

Having just moved to this location in Feb. my lifetime of observing a dry zone while driving through here (west side of the mountains) is quickly being confirmed.

Have only mowed 2 times since May and now just keeping green where I had the propane tank buried and new struggling grass seed coming up.

Anyone have detailed annual rainfall map link?

It's amazing isn't it. We missed another line of storms that looked to move directly throuh Winchester from the NW this evening. Got some wind, T&L, and not one drop of rain - again. I've tried many times to understand why it is so dry here. The mountains can't explain it by themselves, as it is much wetter in the south part of the valley, and it is basically the same in elevation, and there are just as high mountain ridges to cause moisture-robbing downsloping. I would love for someone to study this phenomena and publish a conclusion. I'm soooo frustrated. I swear when and if the housing market ever rebounds I will be on the first moving truck out of here.

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It's amazing isn't it. We missed another line of storms that looked to move directly throuh Winchester from the NW this evening. Got some wind, T&L, and not one drop of rain - again. I've tried many times to understand why it is so dry here. The mountains can't explain it by themselves, as it is much wetter in the south part of the valley, and it is basically the same in elevation, and there are just as high mountain ridges to cause moisture-robbing downsloping. I would love for someone to study this phenomena and publish a conclusion. I'm soooo frustrated. I swear when and if the housing market ever rebounds I will be on the first moving truck out of here.

the mountains in the souther part of the valley are much higher than say near Tannery Star, west of Winchester.

I beleive where US 33 crosses the mountain from VA into WV is about 3500 Ft up and where US48/VA55 cross into WV from VA is only 1900-2100 feet I think. I could be wrong on that though.

We have a similar situation here, where Leesburg 80% of the time will get a whiff on a line of storms, no mountains really just some ridges and hills but maybe the Potomac Rvr has something to do with it. It is an odd situation though

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It's amazing isn't it. We missed another line of storms that looked to move directly throuh Winchester from the NW this evening. Got some wind, T&L, and not one drop of rain - again. I've tried many times to understand why it is so dry here. The mountains can't explain it by themselves, as it is much wetter in the south part of the valley, and it is basically the same in elevation, and there are just as high mountain ridges to cause moisture-robbing downsloping. I would love for someone to study this phenomena and publish a conclusion. I'm soooo frustrated. I swear when and if the housing market ever rebounds I will be on the first moving truck out of here.

I think it is mostly just luck in these summer thunderstorm situations. We had gone a month here with about 1/2 inch of rain, and have now been hammered two days in a row with about 2.5 inches falling. It's hard to keep a good attitude about it, watching a landscape born of hard work wither away at worst and hang on by a thread at best, but sooner or later luck will find you.

In winter it is a different story altogether. In our part of the valley we are almost always shut out with any precip moving in from the northwest, but just about 30 miles north around Williamsport MD it seems to be completely different. I know that every time I go up there in the winter, they have more snow. Always. 30 miles to the NE can't be that big of a factor from a latitude perspective, so there must be geographical factors involved.

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I think it is mostly just luck in these summer thunderstorm situations. We had gone a month here with about 1/2 inch of rain, and have now been hammered two days in a row with about 2.5 inches falling. It's hard to keep a good attitude about it, watching a landscape born of hard work wither away at worst and hang on by a thread at best, but sooner or later luck will find you.

In winter it is a different story altogether. In our part of the valley we are almost always shut out with any precip moving in from the northwest, but just about 30 miles north around Williamsport MD it seems to be completely different. I know that every time I go up there in the winter, they have more snow. Always. 30 miles to the NE can't be that big of a factor from a latitude perspective, so there must be geographical factors involved.

definitely some "bad luck" involved in driest of areas... heaviest multi-day event for the area probably since last sept?

post-1615-0-68274800-1313458610.gif

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definitely some "bad luck" involved in driest of areas... heaviest multi-day event for the area probably since last sept?

post-1615-0-68274800-1313458610.gif

There was a pretty big event in May, if I remember correctly. I know that here, we had several really wet periods before June, then somebody turned off the spigot.

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the mountains in the souther part of the valley are much higher than say near Tannery Star, west of Winchester.

I beleive where US 33 crosses the mountain from VA into WV is about 3500 Ft up and where US48/VA55 cross into WV from VA is only 1900-2100 feet I think. I could be wrong on that though.

We have a similar situation here, where Leesburg 80% of the time will get a whiff on a line of storms, no mountains really just some ridges and hills but maybe the Potomac Rvr has something to do with it. It is an odd situation though

My dad lives in Louisville, and he swears that the weather north of the Ohio river is much different than south of it. I can't wrap my mind around any reason that that would be true, but maybe there is something to it. It would also help with my observations about the area around Williamsport, MD in the winter.

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There was a pretty big event in May, if I remember correctly. I know that here, we had several really wet periods before June, then somebody turned off the spigot.

We got some good rains in May, no doubt, though it may have been even less widespread than this recent event.

Fairfax County definitely got the shaft this time around. That map that Ian posted is testament to that. But I guess that means "we're due."

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Yep, about to water the lawn again here in Boyce.

Having just moved to this location in Feb. my lifetime of observing a dry zone while driving through here (west side of the mountains) is quickly being confirmed.

Have only mowed 2 times since May and now just keeping green where I had the propane tank buried and new struggling grass seed coming up.

Anyone have detailed annual rainfall map link?

my parent's live in Boyce and they are getting a little frustrated by it too. Back in the early part of the summer their lawn was doing ok, but it's slowed down quite a bit now. Although, they still feel good about theirs when they come up to see mine in Frederick.

maybe we should all just move to Baltimore

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It's been hit or miss over here too. I kept getting fringed by the heavier popcorn type showers spiraling around with the flow, coming down from the north...almost like lake effect snow showers we see in winter. Some areas nearby saw torrential downpours if you were right under them. My daughter drove through one at the entrance to our subdivision 3/4 mile away, but it barely rained at our house. Luck of the draw...

0.38" total from several showers spaced throughout the day yesterday.

My surplus of rain YTD from early this year has been dwindling at a quick pace here lately.

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Cool? What is it there?

It's 89 here. 5 degrees above forecast again and 5 degrees above normal. This passes for a cold front? Jeebus. It's uncomfortably hot in the sun, at least, although it isn't humid.

We got to a high of 86 here but now 83 with a nice breeze out of the NW. 2 gorgeous summer days in a row

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We got to a high of 86 here but now 83 with a nice breeze out of the NW. 2 gorgeous summer days in a row

87 here at the moment, down from the 89 high. I know it could be worse, but I wouldn't call this gorgeous. You're a little cooler up there, but still above average. That just shouldn't happen behind a cold front.

Yesterday was 81 for the high here, below normal for once, but still 6 degrees above forecast. That keeps happening down here. I'm assuming it is because it is so dry.

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Cool? What is it there?

It's 89 here. 5 degrees above forecast again and 5 degrees above normal. This passes for a cold front? Jeebus. It's uncomfortably hot in the sun, at least, although it isn't humid.

Wierd I didn't get past 82 and the DP is 59. Maybe my station is off, but it feels nice out especially with the steady breeze.

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