Clouding up

02/13/12, 5:30 pm, looking northwest

Late in the day on Monday, February 13th, the clouds began to gather with a mix of cirrus and cumulus clouds. A weather change is on the way with warmer temperatures and rain later in the week. 


Monday's high was 35 and low was 18 degrees F. Even though it was cold, one could feel the warmth and humidity on the breeze. The rest of the week looks more like highs in the low 50's and lows in the mid-30's.


Days are longer now with sunset coming by 5:45 pm and later each day. These mostly cirrus clouds were not yet stained with sunset colors, but had lovely lavender shadows.

Soft sunset cloud bank

01/30/12 5:30 pm, looking west

These low soft mounds of cumulus clouds covered the eastern horizon just after sunset last night reflecting the rosy glow. 


After several days of seasonal temperatures (lows in the upper 20's F), we have a warming trend forecast for the next couple of days with highs maybe reaching 70 degrees F. I hope we'll have some interesting clouds out of this warm front. I miss big, fat summer cumulus clouds! I admit it!

Warmer and cirrus

1/5/12, 12:30 pm, gazing south

Lots of gauzy cirrus clouds in a cerulean sky on Thursday, January 5th just after noon. These delicate, icy layers are high in the atmosphere and it seems like a miracle that we can even see them. All those tiny ice crystals aligned on the winds 20,000 feet above us.


A high in the low 50's made the day seem balmy after the past days of chill. The cycle of cold and warm fronts running up the Eastern US coast continues.

Last day of the frigid front

Today's low was 17 degrees F according to Weather Underground, but the thermometer on the back porch read 12 when the dogs went out (briefly) at 5:15 am. The temperature will only go up for the rest of the day. Winter is here for the moment but the warmer temperatures of fall/spring are forecast for the rest of the week. 


A warm front moving into Central Virginia and displacing a cold front causes interesting cloud formations. This one was in the south just before 5 pm, a few minutes before sunset. Lots of layers here including cirrus, altostratus and altocumulus. Looks like a muddy gray curtain closing over the sky.

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!

Clouding up

12/14/11 10 am, facing northwest

This morning the clouds moved in after yesterday's crisp clear skies. This is a warm front coming in advance of a cold front later in the week. By noon, the sky was overcast with little blue visible. There were a variety of cloud types including stratocumulus,  altocumulus and stratus.

Today and tomorrow are forecast to be warmer than normal with the promised cold front arriving on Friday with possible showers. Lots to paint!