Cloudy Solstice

12/21/11, 4 pm facing northwest

The Winter Solstice was cloudy and very warm in central Virginia this year, very unseasonable in my opinion. How unseasonably warm you ask? The high on Wednesday, December 21st was 66 degrees F; Thursday's high was 69 degrees.

With overcast skies full of altocumulus clouds almost bursting with rain, the warmth and humidity felt like springtime. All these clouds moved in from the southwest blanketing the east and moving northeast up the coast. This warm front precedes a cold front moving in on Friday.

12/22/11, 11:30 am, looking east

We had about a half inch of rain during the two days but most of those showers were sudden, brief and pelting. On Thursday morning the clouds broke up and thinned allowing glimpses of blue sky. Later in the day, we were deluged by heavy rain showers and oppressive warmth.

The clouds will thin and move north early Friday morning and we'll have steadily dropping temperatures throughout the day. So it will feel a lot more like Christmas!