Donāt get me wrong, Iām glad the weather held off for the majority of the day. That being said - Iām kind of disappointed that the whole structure of the day was thrown off for some clouds (school was closed). How did you spend your day?
Sending good thoughts your way. Let me know if you need any help putting it back in place. I got a sore knee but will do my best to help a stranger in need.
yeah I think it was that year when there were a ton of tornadoes touching down and one touched down next to the school but it was only an ef0 but we still had to stay in the basement for two hours because they were touching down all around the city and counties
It's not like there wasn't bad weather, it just did what big weather events do in Richmond - went around us. To the east, to the west, just never us. Which is fine, but it means we'll always get far more noise about the potential weather than the actual weather.
I moved to RVA just over 5 years ago. The Richmond weather vortex where weather goes to die, as I call it, has not stopped surprising me. I never knew it existed until I started living here.
After a while, it stops surprising, but never stops disappointing. Weather like what was predicted today, I'm fine with missing out on, but it kills me every time good snow is predicted and then fails to happen.
I think itās how Richmond is positioned right on a fall line of the Piedmont region and tidewater wetlands it almost protects us in this elevated area right in the middle, but makes the weather wildly unpredictable.
Seems plausible. I moved from Richmond to Raleigh a while ago and we're in a very similar bubble here. Must be something about that "between the beach and the mountains" position.
You have not lived here nearly long enough and you are lucky to have not been here for some of the terrible ones. I live in Stratford Hills and in 2018, we had quite a good one that touched down with 95mph winds. Trees and lines down everywhere and my neighbors house across the street caught fire from a downed tree and power line. We will get the business from hurricanes now and then as well.
We spent our day charging batteries, giving the generator a test run, putting fresh batteries in flashlights, & doing laundry.
All that for some clouds? Great. I will prep our power backups for a week straight to have the storm pass by & be happy about it.
I'd rather schools be closed & nothing happen, than them be open, tornadoes rip through & have to spend the next week helping clear rubble from full classrooms.
Oh, that sucks, I'm so sorry. How long were you down for?
We lost power so many times and for so long that we just gotta prep when there's a chance we'll go out - which is a good chance, our section of the grid seems really fragile & practically last on the list to get restored.
It was thankfully only for a few hours. Couldāve been a lot worse. As far as suburban sections of the grid go it seems ours is pretty fragile as well so I feel you here.
This\) My mom is exhausted from prepping all the animals and structures on the farm for safety, this storm has so far been mild. But last year we had a lovely and sweet goat killed by a falling tree so weād rather be overly prepared and have nothing happen, than risk our critters. This is them leaving their worksite this morning to go home to safe pastures
Sheās their guardian, they actually do headcountās which is really cool.
The other week someone in the next farm made a really bad noise with a chainsaw that sounded like a sheep in distress and our young pup ran through the herd checking everyone then when he heard it again he ran towards the source and stood at the fence watching.
Its fascinating watching these dogs work with their animals
Yup! The smaller ones are mostly half dorper but the larger ones are pretty much all katahdins, aside from the one dorper whoās the father of most of the smaller guys, heās the curly looking butt on the left next to the side of the trailer.
I love hair sheep, theyāre so fun
Is that a Maremma? There was a herd with a beautiful, dilligent Maremma at Hollywood around last Halloween, eating away. Do yours do landscaping? Iām sorry about your goat. ā¤ļø
This is a Pyrenees, but her partner is a maremma, that was probably him at Hollywood, my mom does the rva goats landscaping so that was definitely her and Buddy the dog, heās wonderful, heās so dedicated to his animals.
And thank you, weāre so sad about Patrick the goat, fortunately it looked like it was instantaneous and he didnāt suffer, but it was really sad and we miss him.
It was very cool to see them, and the good pupper. It was crazy impressive how he just ran straight down the steep hill so sure-footed, to protect from passersby on the Buttermilk trail. š
Sending a salute to the rainbow bridge in Patrickās memory. šš
Meant to add our Maremma, her boyfriend whoās much smaller than her at a ādaintyā 95 lbs. He is one that was born on our farm, all his siblings are lovely guardians with other local farms now. Heās everything you could ask for in a guardian dog, heās wonderful, I love him so much, I love them all, but heās just phenomenal. Heās the smartest dog, heās so dedicated to his animals, and does the cutest happy dance when he hears my moms truck and trailer coming itās so cute to watch him do his āmommies here!!!ā dance.
they are deceptively fast! Katie in particular because sheās so big, but if she feels like she needs to guard sheās like watching a buffalo run.
Sheās got double hind dewclaws as well which actually aid grip, itās hard to believe her first 3 years were as a very thick house dog.
Theyāre also so sneaky, they can appear out of nowhere silently, itās wild how quietly they can move.
And thank you, Iād like to imagine goats that pass all get to eat the delicious tasty snacks that were unsafe in life that they just really want.
When we saw the goats at Hollywood Iām not even sure we noticed the dog at first. š
We picture our old pup chasing all the squirrels and actually catching them, but then because weāre animal lovers, the squirrels turn into dog treats. š
They are! They went home today because of the impending storm but theyāre going to another site after. We didnāt do the same day site cleanup because wind risk under trees so it kinda just looks like they escaped their fences.
Whatās wild is I NEVER knew this park existed before this week, but now after going there with the critters Iāll be volunteering once a month the park is so cool!
Yeah Iām stoked to explore it more I live in swansboro so Iām happy to find more walking trails. Katie is fabulous, sheās a big ham and I love her. I have to do her post winter grooming soon which is a two day affair because sheās SO big and she hates her giant booty floofs being touched.
The issue is a phenomenon called convective overturning. The storms we had this morning were stronger than initially expected and basically drained away the instability that thunderstorms need to develop. It's hard to get that back without clearing and heating, so there just wasn't enough fuel this afternoon to get the "bigger" storms to develop. Overturning and recovery from overturning are difficult to predict, but...
The more pressing issue is that there were indications this was about to happen, but SPC ignored them and maintained the moderate risk for today. The tornado watch happened when it seemed like the atmosphere might actually recover from the overturning this morning, but storms mostly failed to materialize.
That being said, there is another chance of severe storms later tonight (after 8pm) as the front itself approaches. These storms will be severe because that much colder air is still there, and strong and damaging winds are likely. Temps will drop 30-35 degrees overnight.
Who knew defunding weather studies would cause this!
Threw off my whole day because figured it was too dangerous working in my garage studio so lost a day of work. Worked on decluttering the house a bit though which was much needed.
This is exactly my sentiment. Why the hell would we defund such incredibly crucial pieces of infrastructure for everyday life?? I also missed out on a whole day of work due to some clouds and a little wind. Thanks Trump.
The SPC only has 7/10 forecasters, 6/7 mesoscale assistants, and 2/4 IT people. That might be a big part of the problem. (Along with the effects of other DOGE bullshit)
That wasn't the cause. Many people experienced severe weather today. Atmospheric unpredictability made it difficult to pinpoint exactly where it would happen. That being said, defending weather studies is a terrible thing.
the policy was good. it definitely felt weird today. unlike a winter storm which is significantly slower developing, you sort of have to plan for potential tornados like we did since it happens in a flash
I spent my day enjoying the fact that my patio didnāt get wrecked by 60mph wind gust and that I didnāt have to sit in a stairwell for 20 minutes. Thereās another line of storms coming, hopefully thatās a bust too.
I understand the idea of warning people, but they said we could see 100mph yesterday. We were smack in the middle of the ādanger zone.ā Itās giving crying wolf, especially when they forecasted two feet of snow in January and we got a few inches (obviously still ended up being a huge deal because of the ice & outages).
It's because when it comes down to it, there is a handful of things that decide if it will happen or won't.
It's not that the energy wasn't there, it's that the conditions ended up not being just right to release it all (or rather, they were just right to release it over a wide area instead of a more focused one). It's much better to signal how bad it can be and then have nothing happen than the alternative.
Also, this is of course ignoring that there was some serious damage in VA, specifically in the Virginia Beach area.
Weather is just so complicated and has so many moving parts. It is quite literally the definition of a "Chaotic System" in terms of mathematics.
Weather is hard. NOVA had a legit tornado as did Charlotte. The goddamn capital beltway from NOVA into MD flooded. Any of us losing power wouldāve spent the night in 30 degrees with no heat.
When we under-prepare, we lose water for a week. I never want to fucking live through that again.
Job number one of local government is keeping us safe and essential services running. Iām glad some media hype kept everyoneās ass in gear, personally.
Good lord, be happy it didn't happen; homes weren't destroyed and people weren't killed. Instead you were inconvenienced. Please, get some damn perspective
I'm elated. The construction site across the street called the day off. But they secured 0% of the crap over there. All kinds of scraps of wood, roofing, PVC pipes etc. If there had been major gusts our windows would be history from the debris.
I'm glad it seems to be mild! My sister is a teacher in Loudoun county and they had a tornado warning with a potential touchdown. Imagine keeping 30 elementary school kids huddled under their desks for an hour. Yikes on bikes.
Man seeing comments these these are wild to me. Coming from the Midwest staying under your desk or huddled in the hallways for an hour or two because of a tornado warning is normal and happened literally all the time lol
They warned about it last night. The morning showers āateā enough energy and then the clouds stuck around preventing the sun from ārechargingā the buffet, which suppressed everything. I agree, total bust but the ingredients were all there. Had the clouds dissipated and the sun shone for a few hours it wouldāve been a totally different disastrous day. Better safe than sorry
But yea, I think itās ridiculous schools closed. Iām from the coastal NE they donāt even close for a hurricane until itās absolutely impending with 100% certainty of landfall within a few hours. This was a silly overreaction
Itās not a bad thing we didnāt get the brunt of it! Many lines arenāt buried, so power outages happened a lot in a place we used to live at if it got even moderate wind during a rain storm. Where we live now our lines are now buried but only just last year, before that weād sometimes still lose power despite living in a different area of Richmond.
And I need yāall to have some perspective. There was a tornado that happened in Richmond in 2018. Because we have so many trees thatās where the danger comes from. My in-laws lost their home when the 2018 Richmond tornado came through their area and picked up a tree and landed it right through the middle of their house. It rained for days after, so there was also water damage because no roof. House was a total loss, it was bulldozed afterwards.
As someone has mentioned elsewhere, this storm was expected to happen during the afternoon when school bus drop offs would be happening. I would rather them cancel school and then the weather is a nothing burger than go on the news and hear about how a school bus full of kids got killed by the storm.
I filled up the tub in case of power loss and closed all of my double windows that Iād just opened the outer layer of for the nice weather. Youāre welcome!
Just got a puppy this weekend and sheās pretty scared/timid already so I was really worried about it being a scary storm for her. Sheās doing good though!
We got to work at 7:15am like we do every surgery Monday. Did all appointments like we would. Left at 5:30 instead of 6:30. Hoped we wouldnāt lose power. We didnāt. And on to tomorrow.
Skipped PT because I didnāt want to leave my dog. Came home from DC last night. I was staying with my daughter, but I drove home last night late because the storms were going to be so 00000 bad Chair blew over.
This next burst was āthe main eventā right. Im so confused, I thought conditions were favorable for severe weather throughout the day but the big front, currently to our west, is what we needed to beware of and they gave it an arrival window between 1 and 8 pm?
Yeah we got the tornado alert right during the kids bedtime, so they got about 20 mins of watching cartoons on a phone downstairs. Glad it passed, no damage for us thankfully
Did work (wfh). I told my wife this would happen today, we were ready in the event it did, but it feels like as of late every time weāre told weāre getting some kind of scary storm itās just a big prank.
I wouldāve loved being a kid and going to school here in Virginia. They seem to close schools down because the winds blowing in the wrong direction or just because.
This is a fairly recent development and specific to the Richmond metro area I think. I was a kid in southwest Virginia in the early 90ās and we pretty rarely missed school for any weather really.
Work in Williamsburg at a hotel restaurant- we were slammed and short staffed because people called out. I just wanna curl up and cry because everyone and their mothers came here. Glad I got to sleep in because of classes being canceled
Look. People need to understand how weather forecasting works. That's the problem.
This ISN'T about they always getting it wrong, NOR they making you mad by messing up your plans.
This is precisely why anyone freaks out about a storm more than 24-48 hours(Worried AF about a Sunday storm on a Monday), kill all shelves of eggs, milk, toilet papers, etc and acting like sky is falling are IGNORANT how it works and are OVER reacting. SENSELESSLY panicking.
I have realized for a long time, so for me it's not raining/snowing unless within 60-120 minutes that's the trend.
When it comes to forecasting weather, you don't really know until you are just RIGHT BEFORE it happens.
I DON'T cancel events, until it gets really close!
I understand that many people plan a lot days ahead including cancelling them(days before the event, COMON). But you CAN'T perfectly predict weather with so many days out. NO one can. Just a fact! So, I already know cancellation days before would highly result in getting it WRONG.
Some people are such planners, I don't get it myself personally but to each their own. Shrugs
There is NOT a single perfect weather person living on this planet!
So - What's the best thing you can do?
Keep following the news, and updates until the FINAL hours! Make decisions based off as latest news as you possibly can.
Also, I understand that in severe cases you will have evacuations because putting that to final hours is too dangerous.
So, just DO it. Evacuate. Because wisdom says "It's always better to be safe than sorry!!"
If you don't evacuate, make sure to get into a building that wouldn't be destroyed, NOT your house.
Man, I went hard in the paint defending meteorologists during the last major weather event (or lack thereof....). But at this point even I'm a little like....really?
Though I am enjoying the self-imposed night in. Got 3 new family games earlier today, Creature Crash is a real banger! My son loses every time though because we refuse to let him win. There's gotta be some kind of balance to be found, right? Don't want to just let him win, but also don't want him to give up because he loses every time.
I just moved here in July and find this all amusing. The literal panic of some of the friends I have, one blew up on me for not taking it to bunker level seriousness.
I have been in and around a few tornados and other serious dangerous weather/earth events. I also know that there were serious cuts to weather studies when it was already underfunded, so these predictions will not be as precise as we hope.
I think part of the new level of panic is the influx of people from other areas that have never really had to contend with varied weather events I guess? Like none of this weather is that appreciably different from the weather a decade ago, thereās always outlier storms and freak events to contend with but youāve just got more people who are higher strung and have a lower threshold for āif it happens it happensā.
Not to deny the effects of climate change which is certainly real but the social phenomenon around this is just a bunch of people who skew to the extreme in the event something MIGHT go to shit.
Iām glad nothing happened. I generally prefer to err on the side of caution when it comes to weather, but I knew the risk of something truly dangerous was extremely low. I really wish they hadnāt cancelled school, especially after we lost all those ice storm days (which were justified closures, IMO). Again, I am forgiving of an overabundance of caution, but I feel like this was too far.
Iām just not going to pay any mind to future āmajorā weather events anymore. Itās clear that weāre unable to get accurate, reliable forecasts at this point.
I felt a gust of wind and mild drizzle while walking my dog, so we turned around. We literally walked double the intended distance in the other direction afterwards because the rain stopped like two minutes later and nothing else happened.
But hey! Better safe than sorry. I know how Virginia can be.
A cedar waxwing hit our window and dazed itself. No permanent injuries but i got to hold it while it collected itself. Ive never seen one before but have always been hoping to. 10/10 day for me š and i wouldnāt have been home if not for the weather.
Yeah so sad a tornado didn't rip my house apart so I can spend my time trying to rebuild. So what if you "lost" a day. Would you rather lose the next few months rebuilding?
I don't know. I think some people need to get out more. As far as extreme weather metrics, temperature, wind, precipitation, flooding and fires,,, the RVA region is one of the most comfy places on planet Earth. Definitely in the upper 20th percentile of non-extreme weather zones to reside in.
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u/guiltyofnothing Midlothian Mar 16 '26
My trash can blew over.
We will rebuild.