Forecast: La Niña Weather Pattern Causing Warmer Fall Temperatures

Northern Virginia's extreme weather started last winter, meteorologists say.

Derechos, blizzards, hurricanes, thunderstorms, extreme heat...is there any wacky weather Northern Virginia hasn't seen in recent years? This past summer saw enough 100-plus degree days to make 2012 the most intense in 141 years of record-keeping according to the Capital Weather Gang. “Starting from this past winter, we had temperatures that were much above normal,” said Ken Widelski of the National Weather Service. “It was an abnormally warm winter, followed by a cooler than normal spring and we definitely had our periods of hot weather over the summer.” As for this June's derecho, it’s typical climatologically for this area to see a derecho every couple of years, Widelski explained. What was unique about this year's derecho was the …

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Tech Trends

A Technology Kit for Emergencies

Prepare now for the next time we're without electricity.

There have been ample opportunities over the past weeks to be reminded of how much we rely on electricity. Perhaps the first few hours without power are okay, even possibly fun as we indulge in memories of camping. Then the need to hunker down sinks in, as we eat the second (or third) quart of softening ice cream and put another thawed steak on the grill. We intended to be better prepared for the next emergency, but oops! Where to start? Forewarned is forearmed. Local services, such as Fairfax County’s Community Emergency Alert Network (CEAN) provide traffic and weather notices to your phone, via email or other options. Visit Fairfax County’s Website for links to a variety of local and national alert services and sign up. The United States…

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Winter Weather Forecast: Normal Temps, More Snow—Maybe

First snowfall in early December. Blizzard Jan. 30 - 31. Are you ready?

Jason Samenow of the Capital Weather Gang said he knows of no meteorologist, including himself, who "assign[s] any legitimacy to the Old Farmer's Almanac weather predictions." But even Samenow admits that sometimes the Almanac gets it right. The Farmers' Almanac said it was "on the money" in 2011 with several forecasts, including these: • "Accurately predicted a major snowstorm for the Northeastern and Great Lakes states for early February 2011. At that time, heavy snow did pound the Northeastern U.S., while a blizzard shut down Chicago." • "Predicted that the spring of 2011 would be exceptionally wet, and that parts of the U.S. would see a very active tornado season. This proved to be true when flooding overwhelmed the Mississippi River …

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Susan Larson

5:37 pm on Thursday, October 13, 2011

I'm with you, Nancy-jo!   more ›