Weather

Strong winds aloft over the Atlantic related to the ongoing strong El Niño, the warming of the equatorial Pacific sea surface, are keeping tropical development in check.

Diana Dymacek of Lexington missed by only one degree total on her best two of three guesses on the summer’s hottest temperature at Southwest and Southside Virginia regional locations.

There is some relief from the heat wave on the way over the Labor Day weekend and into early next week, but it might come with football-interfering showers and storms.

Drought, storms and heat waves all entered the discussion at various times this summer, and heat is resurging into this first week of September.

Heat, humidity and thunderstorms will be on the rebound after the early week hint of autumn.

The 1969 and 2024 tropical-induced catastrophes had obvious similarities in impacts, but also many differences that made each one a distinct disaster.

By any name — squall line, bow echo, mesoscale convective system or derecho — Monday’s and Tuesday’s storms stirred up some gusty winds.

Monday’s storms may be the harbinger of additional rounds of potentially severe storms on Tuesday and beyond.

The recurring warm-water phenomenon in the Pacific is a reality and it might become the strongest on record. But its effects on Virginia weather are not set in stone.

The extreme heat has shifted out west, with high pressure bending the upper-air flow southward over Virginia.