Our region has been stuck in a hot and humid pattern for awhile now. There will be a slight drop in temperatures and humidity at times this week, but it will not be significant.
A change in the jet stream and a cold front passing through the area next Sunday will finally allow some “cooler” and less humid air to filter southward into Virginia. This just means it won’t be muggy, and highs may only reach the low to mid 80s for a few days. The normal high for this point of the summer is around 89°-90° each day, so any cooling will be short-lived. This period of time is still a week away, but this has been the general trend of the computer models over the past few days.
The National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center has released its outlook for August. When you average the whole month out, seasonably hot temperatures (upper 80s to around 90°) will remain in our area. We can still see some pretty hot and humid days, but they should not dominate the majority of the month. Some above normal temps are forecast near Washington D.C. up through the northeastern United States.
In terms of rainfall, our recent wet pattern may hold through August. Normal Richmond rainfall for August is 4.18″. While you may be tired of mowing your lawn, at least we are not dealing with the extreme drought from last year.
As always, this is a somewhat long-range outlook based on history, trends and computer models. It should not be etched in granite, but rather used as an indication of general trends and possibilities.
