84/76 with a thunderstorm literally splitting over my house.

.15”. at least it’s something.

hearing thunder and it’s sprinkling. maybe it’ll even rain a little.

41 minutes ago, pazzo83 said:

your house and mine must be on the same wavelength or something lol.  we have missed basically everything over the past week.

it's got to change eventually, right?

it’s much better out here. and some rain showers popped up but of course they missed my house.

3 hours ago, frd said:

So what chemical reaction is causing this wildfire smoke to smell more like burning plastic and chemicals versus a typical wood burning ?  There are some conspiracy theories on the web about this currently.  

 

What’s that smell? Smoke from Canadian wildfires emitting particular scent

https://www.wpxi.com/news/local/whats-that-smell-smoke-canadian-wildfires-emitting-particular-scent/XLZWQ5WC5RDALISQUUUBBVZM6A/

Isoprenoids are compounds released when vegetation burns. Those compounds produce what we think of as a wood-burning smell or “campfire” smell. Well, those compounds break down quickly when exposed to UV radiation from the sun. Hence, the scent doesn’t travel too far.

What does carry a distance are volatile organic compounds like Benzene, Formaldehyde and Acrolein which all have a more pungent, sweet or metallic smell. That is what most of us have been smelling when stepping outside the last couple of days. Benzene is particularly dangerous, with long-term exposure, which is one of the many reasons we are encouraging you to stay inside while the air quality is so bad.

no relief tomorrow out here. i’d better get my watering done now.

Alert: Air Quality Alert until 12:00AM Friday

Dear Nixle User,

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has issued a Code RED Air Quality Alert Thursday for Winchester and the eastern West Virginia Panhandle. A Code Red Air Quality Alert means that air pollution concentrations within the region are unhealthy for the general population. The effects of air pollution can be minimized by avoiding strenuous activity or exercise outdoors. For more information on ground-level ozone and fine particles visit the web site Virginia DEQ air quality web site at www.deq.virginia.gov.

* AFFECTED AREAS: FREDERICK ... CLARKE ... MORGAN ... BERKELEY ... JEFFERSON

42 minutes ago, SomeguyfromTakomaPark said:

Yuck smells like smoke again.  Interestingly the air quality is yellow whereas last time I only smelled it when it turned to red. 

it’s closer to the surface today.

1 hour ago, MN Transplant said:

Brutal difference between west and east of Baltimore month-to-date.

the Charles Town dot doesn’t reflect totals a few miles west of it—we’ve only had 1.50”. it’s ridiculous.

so much for the orange air quality alert—out here we’re already in red alert territory and it keeps rising.

3 hours ago, mappy said:

birthday woo storms? 

happy birthday!

here we go again:

orange alerts are out for tomorrow.

a little bit of rain and 1 rumble of thunder

nothing

.77” overnight—the most rain we’ve had in months. and the grass is still brown.

every storm has split right before it got to me, lol.

 cross-posting here:

The National Weather Service in Sterling Virginia has issued a 

* Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... East central Frederick County in northwestern Virginia... Northeastern Clarke County in northwestern Virginia... Southwestern Jefferson County in the Panhandle of West Virginia... South central Berkeley County in the Panhandle of West Virginia... 

* Until 400 PM EDT. 

* At 331 PM EDT, a severe thunderstorm was located near Winchester, moving east at 30 mph. HAZARD...60 mph wind gusts and quarter size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Damaging winds will cause some trees and large branches to fall. This could injure those outdoors, as well as damage homes and vehicles. Roadways may become blocked by downed trees. Localized power outages are possible. Unsecured light objects may become projectiles. 

* Locations impacted include... Charles Town, Berryville, Brucetown, Cedar Grove, Gaylord, Clear Brook, Ridgeway, Stephenson, Wadesville, Summit Point, Cedar Hill, Stringtown and Rippon.

* AFFECTED AREAS: CLARKE, VA ... FREDERICK, VA ... BERKELEY, WV ... JEFFERSON, WV
 

i think this is going to pass just to my south. i’m ok with that as long as we get some more rain.

The National Weather Service in Sterling Virginia has issued a 

* Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... East central Frederick County in northwestern Virginia... Northeastern Clarke County in northwestern Virginia... Southwestern Jefferson County in the Panhandle of West Virginia... South central Berkeley County in the Panhandle of West Virginia... 

* Until 400 PM EDT. 

* At 331 PM EDT, a severe thunderstorm was located near Winchester, moving east at 30 mph. HAZARD...60 mph wind gusts and quarter size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Damaging winds will cause some trees and large branches to fall. This could injure those outdoors, as well as damage homes and vehicles. Roadways may become blocked by downed trees. Localized power outages are possible. Unsecured light objects may become projectiles. 

* Locations impacted include... Charles Town, Berryville, Brucetown, Cedar Grove, Gaylord, Clear Brook, Ridgeway, Stephenson, Wadesville, Summit Point, Cedar Hill, Stringtown and Rippon.

* AFFECTED AREAS: CLARKE, VA ... FREDERICK, VA ... BERKELEY, WV ... JEFFERSON, WV
 

second line forming overhead and it’s already noisy. i just got home 10 minutes ago and am feeling pretty happy about beating the storm. plus i had to stop by my friend’s auto body shop and he sent me home with a bunch of brisket.

a couple loud rumbles of thunder (which woke up the cats who were then mad at me for some reason) and .26” of needed rain.

finished with .42" which is pathetic but more than we've had in the last month (or longer).

.34" so far. we missed out on the rain y'all on the other side of the Blue Ridge got so i'm happy to take what i can get.

omg it’s finally raining here.

46 for the low—we’ve had a string of sub-50 lows with the smoke. and the AQI is about to revert back to orange. 

it’s cleared out enough that can vaguely see the gap at Harper’s Ferry again. and i think i can be outside to grill dinner—closest sensor is down to 112.

the last HRRR i saw dumps a black load of smoke out here just after midnight.