SouthboundYank

Worst NVSL memory EVER, from about 15 years ago...getting the kids to the host pool in Springfield area around 5:30 p.m. for relay carnival, when (of course!) it started thundering. There were severe storms in the area at the time, but it appeared on radar as if they were going to miss our area...but did not. We got 2-3 rounds of really bad storms, while stuck in insufferably hot/humid conditions sitting in our minivan with a handful of bored kids drawing on fogged-up windows. We were continually rain-delayed until well after 9 p.m., when everyone was cleared to hit the pool deck and start RC. Don't think we got home until 11:30 that night...UGH.

Uggggggh, Rt. 15. Visited the Leesburg/Luckets area last weekend on a breweries crawl and forgot how horrendously painful Rt. 15 is. A weekend day, but still...I hear the traffic reports on weekdays, and it's never pretty. Feel for folks up in that corner of NoVA.

I-295 between the Beltway and downtown used to be brutal in terms of speed cams a number of years ago, to the point where I just stopped using the f*cking road because I got a half dozen tickets in just a few month's time for only being a few miles over the speed limit.

As annoying as THIS (and your previous example) is/are...just as annoying is I-95 between Baltimore and Washington *AND* the B/W Parkway, literally ALL weekend long. MD/DC drivers on the BeeDubs Pkwy nearly always drive me to the point of going postal. NoVA has horrendous traffic...but we don't have the corner on the market.

Currently 93/70 IMBY. A light scud of hazy cloud cover today, which actually brings some relief, at least enough to sit on the back patio...WITH A FAN...today. Friends, family, neighbors...everyone is bitching about the heat and humidity right now. I don't care, I love it...this is just training ground for when we move to the SC low country in the next couple of years.

Looks absolutely DELISH. And bless your heart, taking your time for the flower garnish. My adult sons would pick that out of the fruit bowl, examine it thoroughly, then toss it on the table and say to me, "Dad, WTF???" Uncultured heathens are what we apparently raised in this household...

95 IMBY. That's a slight bust higher than the forecasted high here today. With an occasional breeze, it's bearable.

As @mdhokie said...it wasn't always this bad. My family and I used to be able to make it to OBX in just over four hours 15-20 years ago...that's completely out of the question now. My wife and I love some of the restaurants in the Stonebridge at Potomac Town Center complex next to I-95 (a mere 12 or so miles south of us) across from Potomac Mills...but given that we typically only have time to do that on a weekend, we're no longer willing to put up with a 45-60 minute trip to travel just 12 or so miles south. It's gotten so bad, that I hate to plan any travel SOUTH to our favorite beach locations in NC/SC...and when we do attempt to do so, we leave NoVA before daybreak, and try to time our arrival back in this hellhole for late in the evening. Driving pretty much anywhere in NoVA anymore is an exercise in self-flagellation. I avoid it at all costs. And it's hi-test motivation to my soul and spirit to GTHO of this area within the next 1-2 years. I loved the DMV when I moved here just over 30 years ago. Hell, my profile name here and on numerous internet sites conveys my love for the Old Dominion...one of the few states where, from most places in the state, you are only 3-5 hours drive away from mountains, beaches and everything in between. But I/we can't wait to get out...at least FAR west or south, of Arlington/Fairfax/Prince William/Stafford Counties.

We had about 10 minutes of moderate rain about an hour ago...and it DEFINITELY feels more tropical after it's passed through. Whew.

TY...you are way too kind. If I have had that luck...it's because my trusty Pixel 8 Pro has been within arm's length.

Breeze was awesome all yesterday...picked up even more when a small line of showers marched through mid-afternoon, but then it mostly cleared off after dinner last evening, when (like most of you), we went back out to enjoy those breezes again!

I love everything you share here, @KAOS. Seriously. You speak to the wx geek part of me, which, I don't know....is like more than HALF of me at this age.

Please send some pics from that beautiful part of the world.

Holy CRAP!!! Some great tornadic vids from the last day or so...

Couldn't have said it ANY better. We were ready to head out for our afternoon walk and suddenly...darkening skies and HEAVY RAIN. Seriously?? No mention of this in the forecast, though the 30% chance suddenly appeared in LWX's forecast within the past half hour...when (apparently) showers were suddenly radar indicated. UGGHHH.

Indeed. Nearly grabbed my light jacket on the way out the door, as it was 52 IMBY...now up to 59 at Ft. Belvoir.

I can't even believe it...storms have popped within the past hour around Manassas, due west of us, taking a direct bead on us AGAIN. Feels like it could happen, too...already 83 IMBY and I think we were forecasted to go no higher than 76 today. I'm telling ya...we score this many direct hits in a week, instead settling for the storm splits.

We got hit with all three "waves" of precip moving through last night...whereas we usually whiff on one or all opportunities in setups similar to that. Currently 60, crystal clear, no clouds. Wish we could hold onto that today.

Sneaky, indeed...my wife and yellow Lab left just after 4 p.m. for our usual four-mile walk and I didn't even pay attention to radar...except the skies once again got that bruised look again about halfway through the walk. We bolted back home and made it just as the downpour arrived...and I was able to snap another pic similar to last evening's, though not quite as dramatic as that one.

Again, I appreciate the "wow" -- I'm not nearly as talented as most other photographers sharing their work here. And you're spot-on, I was shooting in the direction of SSW when I took that...

Ughhh, the scream of the female fox letting potential mates that she's on the market. And agreed, it is a bloodcurdling, otherworldly sound like no other, especially if you're not anticipating it. Our property backs to the Coast Guard's deeply-wooded Alexandria compound, and there's a handful of female foxes roaming their property at any given time. Some nights it sounds like we live next to a haunted graveyard.

I'm definitely enjoying all of this and TY again. I used to watch Wx on the 8's from start to finish, every time...I'm a weirdo.

I believe so, and thank you!

This is what it looked like about 5 minutes after the latest STW was issued, and about 2 minutes before the "really good" rain hit...

Excellent choices throughout the weekend, @CAPE. After a bit of work over the past hour or two, I'm grabbing my Kindle and an IPA and heading out to the back patio for an hour or two before dinner...