The storm at the end of the day

 On Saturday, storms had been rolling all around the area but had not hit us directly. As I drove home from the Shenandoah Wine & Jazz Festival at the Frontier Culture Museum, this was what the sky looked like west of Staunton.

The road home ... the cow standing in the field on the right, the silhouetted power lines, and dark clouds overhead. The storms later hit us with steady downpours until late into the night. Looking east toward Staunton/ Fishersville / Waynesboro, there were continuous lightning flashes about 11:00 Saturday night. You can tell it's summer ... random thunderstorms popping up around the area.

Photos by Lynn R. Mitchell
June 29, 2013

From my yard: thunderstorms rolling (again) into Augusta County

 The sky west of us was black as the latest round of thunderstorms approached around 3:45 this afternoon. This is looking northwest from our yard.

 The is looking southwest.

 This is looking south.

 Northwest ...

... and north-northeast.

Photos by Lynn R. Mitchell
June 10, 2013

Thunderstorm watch in Valley through 10 pm

Hot, humid weather in the central and northern Shenandoah Valley is giving way today to thunderstorms rumbling across the area this afternoon. A severe thundertorm watch has been issued by the National Weather Service until 10:00 pm with the possibility of high winds. Wicked lightning has already been sighted as storms have passed over Augusta County, dropping some much-needed rain. It's summer in the Shenandoah Valley....

Day 6 ... Thunderstorms in the Valley

Don't get me wrong ... the rain is wonderful especially when it's a gentle shower such as what is coming down today. What is interesting is that it's Day 6 in a row of thunderstorms rolling through the central Shenandoah Valley and we're beginning to wonder if we're in the monsoon season.

Grass is growing like crazy ... shrubs and trees definitely need trimming to avoid a jungle theme in the yard. Weeds are slurping up the rain and growing like gang-busters in every nook and cranny they can find ... walkways and pavers are full of green shoots. In the race against weeds, they're winning at the moment.

Again, don't get me wrong. We love our shady oasis of a yard and, when the sun is beating down in July with 90-degree temperatures and high humidity, we love it even more. After all, our annual 4th of July cookout would be unbearable without all the shade trees and green areas.

I'm just saying ... it's Day 6 in a row of thunderstorms and rain. Today as SWAC Husband and I worked in the front yard, the first gentle drops began and, by the time tools were gathered and we scooted onto the porch, a steady shower was coming down.

Bring it on! It's almost summer in the Shenandoah Valley....

Day 5 ... Thunderstorms forming over the mountains

Thunderheads form over the Appalachian Mountains for the 5th day in a row.

The Blue Ridge Mountains had thunderstorms forming, too. The temperature got up to 90 degrees today but a delightful breeze in the shade makes it tolerable.

Photos by SWAC Girl
Lynn Mitchell
31 May 2010

Thursday's lightning storm over the Blue Ridge Mountains

Thunderstorms in the mountains are neat. Years ago when I lived near Blowing Rock, NC, I was amazed as thunder boomed off the mountains, rolling off into the distance only to have another boom start the whole process again, over and over and over.

Thursday night as I left Texas Steakhouse in Staunton, I couldn't help but notice lightning to the east. The restaurant is located on a hill with an excellent view of the Blue Ridge Mountains so I pulled out my camera that is usually with me and, after watching for a while, began to try and capture an image of the lightning that obviously was there to stay for a while.

I was not successful but the light show provided by the storm was awe inspiring. Clouds were lighted or silouetted as well as the mountains ... shades of red, pinkish, orangy in bursts of brilliant white could be seen ... and it was continuous with muted far-off thunder, not the loud sounds-like-a-bowling-alley kind usually heard in the mountains.

The lightning didn't stop even thought I sat and watched for a long time. My reflexes were too slow to capture it by camera. When I uploaded the photos onto my computer that night, they showed merely a blurry-looking light in darkness. Too bad ... it was beautiful to watch in person.

Today's Waynesboro News Virginian has a story about that very lightning. Apparently I wasn't the only one who was captivated by the light show over the mountains, and reporter Tony Gonzalez included some statistics. Did you know lightning flashed 600 times every five minutes that night? No wonder so many were watching!

Here and there, this 'n that in the Valley

On a hot 90-degree day in the Shenandoah Valley, I headed out to do errands and meet a friend for lunch. Some observations while out and about....

Kroger in Staunton had a young man unloading groceries out of the carts onto the counter which was something they've not done before. Don't know if it's a new service or if this young man was just looking for something to do but, after unloading everything onto the counter, he bagged and then started unloading the cart coming through behind me. A service like that would be a great help to moms with small children....

When leaving Kroger I noticed that the Crawford Brothers, famous around these parts for their yummy BBQ, will be barbecuing in the parking lot at the Federated Auto Parts on Statler Boulevard across from Kroger on Saturday morning....

A SIGNER sign on Richmond Road in Staunton was the only reminder I saw that it was Democrat primary day. All reports were showing low turnout....

A sign at the entrance to the Frontier Culture Museum said they were having a wine tasting on June 20....

After spending an extended lunch at McAlister's Deli in Waynesboro visiting with my friend, thunderheads could be seen to the west as I headed home and, sure enough, the sky darkened with wicked lightning and the rain began to fall two miles from the house. A severe weather warning broke in on the radio and, by the time I turned into the driveway, it was a full-blown thunderstorm ... sat in my vehicle for 10 minutes reading the mail and waiting for the rain and lightning to let up enough to get in the house....

Thunderstorms passed through the SWAC area last night and then again this morning from 5-7. It's unusual to awaken to morning thunderstorms. The weather is calling for the possibility of more thunderstorms throughout the night. After dinner, SWAC Husband called me to the deck where a brilliant rainbow could be seen over the ridge behind the house....

The wildflowers are blooming, dressing the shoulders of the roadways in yellows and whites and hues of blue and purple ... gorgeous and fragrant and right on time as we head into summer in the Shenandoah Valley....

It's a blessing to live in the shadow of the Blue Ridge and Alleghany Mountains in the Sweet Virginia Breeze.

The Valley: thunderstorms and power outages ... and cooler temps

It was a rollercoaster ride of storms yesterday in the Shenandoah Valley as black clouds built up behind the Alleghanies and, by early afternoon, the first claps of thunder could be heard in the distance. The wind picked up, the thunder became louder, and then the rains came ... glorious rain because this area has been dry the past few weeks. The week of near 100-degree weather two weeks ago parched the earth and, with little rain since, the garden was wilting.

A series of storms, one behind the other, continued all afternoon and into the evening, causing power outages in the area and temporary flooding conditions around streams. Limbs were torn from trees; leaves were plastered on roadways and buildings. Spectacular lightning lit the sky last night ... jagged streaks criss-crossing the stormy night.

"Horton Hatches the Egg:" A robin built a nest in the wisteria vine on the porch. It is in the exact same spot where a robin built a nest last year so I wondered if it was the same robin. She raised three little ones last year. We were able to see them from the window, and watched as they hatched, grew, and then I left for two weeks in Colorado. When I returned the little ones had graduated out of the nest and were gone. This year she is sitting on the nest again ... same location, same time frame as last year.

Yesterday one particular thunderstorm was more powerful than the previous ones with driving rain and wind ... the rain was blowing horizontally across the yard. I looked out the window to see the robin still faithfully sitting on her nest even as the wind ruffled her feathers and threatened to blow both bird and nest away.

It reminded me of that Dr. Seuss story, "Horton Hatches the Egg," the one where Horton the Elephant faithfully sat on the irresponsible Maysey bird's nest through wind and rain and sun ... he was not going to abandon his post because he had given his word. I laughed as I watched the robin and remembered that story. Not quite an elephant on a nest ... but I could almost hear Horton saying, "I meant what I said and I said what I meant ... an elephant's faithful 100%."

This morning the robin is still sitting on her nest. The air is clear ... low humidity and breezes and temps in the 70s make for a gorgeous sunny day. Temps for the rest of the week are to be in the 70s so it's cool and clear in the mountains for mid-June.

It's summer in the Valley....

Updated: Powerful storms rip through SWAC area....

For the third day in a row powerful thunderstorms ripped through the Staunton, Waynesboro, and Augusta County area after experiencing high temperatures each day in the mid- to upper 90s. Destructive winds, wicked lightning, torrential rain, hail, downed trees, and power outages have been the norm since Thursday.

Yesterday's storms continued for hours. In Waynesboro downed trees caused power outages that affected businesses and the Waynesboro News Virginian newspaper. Arriving at 8:30 this morning, the condensed smaller-than-usual Sunday edition covered the storm on the front page and explained how they were affected by the weather:

Today's edition of The News Virginian is a condensed version of our usual four-section Sunday layout. We apologize to our readers and advertisers for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Due to the series of thunderstorms that hit the Waynesboro area on Saturday, The News Virginian suffered a power outage that left our offices in the dark until late last night. In an effort to ensure that the paper would be published and available to readers today, News Virginian staffers worked to coordinate and produce the paper at an alternate location.

We were unable to publish several sections of the paper that are normally available in our Sunday edition, including the Perspectives page and the Buzz section. Letters to the editor slated for publication in today's newspaper will be published in the following days. Weddings, engagements and other announcements scheduled for publication in today's Buzz section will be featured in the Sept. 2 edition.

Readers may also notice a change in the fonts and other elements implemented during The News Virginian's recent redesign. These changes are limited only to today's edition.

We also apologize for any delay in newspaper delivery to our subscribers as a result of this setback.

These things happen so I was happy to have the News Virginian and the Richmond Times Dispatch delivered this morning even if they were a little late.

The storms Friday and Saturday at my home west of Staunton were some of the fiercest I have seen in quite a while. The wind was extremely forceful, and it was the first time this year I had seen hail in a storm. In my area of the county tree tops were wrenched off ... other trees were downed ... leaves were plastered on the road ... several inches of rain have fallen in storms the past three days. The moisture was welcomed by my garden, flowers, and parched lawn.

Last night my husband and I were driving in the torrential downpours that accompanied those storms. It was difficult to see the roadway after dark ... and the storms never completely ended. As one would pass another would be coming behind it so that the lightning and thunder continued for hours ... zigzag, jagged lightning that lit up the sky. It was an impressive display of nature's power.

Update: Scott at Scott's Morning Brew wrote Thunderboomers, SWAC Girl, and Dead Police Cars ... a hilarious account of his family's reaction to the same storms that hit SWAC and worked their way across the state, eventually hitting his area near the coast. The "dead police car" wasn't so funny but his account of falling over the furniture as he raced through the house ... well, let's just say I got my laugh of the day! A police officer with a sense of humor ... I like it! Be safe out there.

Follow-up article by Bob Stuart in today's (August 27) Waynesboro News Virginia ... Thunderstorms leave an impact across the Valley.