THE YEAR 2010
JANUARY SUMMARY
January was colder than average as the monthly mean temperature was 35.4 F, a -1.3 F departure,
and was also much wetter than average (when compared to Ashland, Virginia records).
Also there were 22 days the minimum temperature dropped below freezing and 3 days that the
maximum didn't climb above freezing.
The 4.15 inches of rain for January was a +0.79 inch departure when compared to the Ashland, VA average.
The maximum precipitation recorded in a day was 1.19 inches on the 30th.
The total snowfall was 12.6 inches for the month recorded mainly in the snowstorm on the 30th and 31st
which was a large +6.8 inch departure compared to Ashland, Virginia records.
The snow storm of the 30th and 31st was the biggest news of the month and between 1100 and noon
of the 30th Glen Allen – Springfield Park area received 2.0 inches in one hour.
See the time lapse video of the storm at
http://glenallenweather.com/links/snows09-10/1-30-2010.avi
and observations each hour during the storm at
http://glenallenweather.com/11snowobs.htm
The maximum temperature for January was 65 F on the 15th, 19th, and 25th and the lowest minimum was 7 F
recorded here on the 31st which was the lowest temperature recorded here since January 17, 2009 when the
minimum temperature was 4 F.
The maximum wind gust of 41 mph occurred on the 25th at 0336 hours and was the highest recorded since
April 3, 2009 when a 41 mph gust was also recorded.
Also the lowest barometric pressure of the month 29.30 inches was recorded and was the lowest pressure
since April 3, 2009 when the pressure was 29.24 inches.
The highest barometer recorded for the month was only 30.41 inches on January 29th.
This January was a little warmer, much wetter and snowier, a little clearer and less windy (lower wind run)
than January 2009.
FEBRUARY
February was much colder than average as the monthly mean temperature was 34.6 F, a -4.5 F departure,
and was also wetter than average (when compared to Ashland, Virginia records).
The average maximum temperature this year was -10.6 F lower than last year's. February was the coldest
month of the winter even colder than January.
This year only one day was greater than or equal to 55 F and last year there were 15 days that this occurred.
There were 26 days the minimum temperature dropped below freezing.
February had 16.1 inches of snow which was a departure of 11.1 inches when compared to Ashland’s
average February snowfall or 322 percent of normal.
The total snowfall for the year is now 28.7 inches and the winter season 41.6 inches.
The 3.93 inches of precipitation for February was a +0.93 inch departure when compared to the
Ashland, VA average.
The maximum precipitation recorded in a day was 1.72 inches on the 5th and 2.50 inches was recorded
in a 24 hour period on the 5th and 6th.
The snowstorm on the 5th and 6th was the biggest news of the month and would have been much
greater if it had been all snow.
Rain started at 1840 and was heavy between 2100 and midnight.
There was more precipitation in the form of rain than snow.
The best estimate was a little over one inch of liquid was snow and at least 1.25 inches was in the form of rain.
The maximum wind gust of 29 mph from the north occurred on the 6th at 0142 hours during the storm.
See the time lapse video of the storm split in two parts-
The first time lapse includes the first part of the storm, snow to 1840 and stops just after the rain ended.
http://glenallenweather.com/links/snows09-10/2-5-10.avi
The second part of the storm is all snow from the storm’s wrap-around effect.
I should also add this was the most snow I have ever seen from the backside of a snowstorm.
http://glenallenweather.com/links/snows09-10/2-6-10.avi
It was a major storm here but was a historic storm in northwest Virginia, Northern VA and MD
where all of the precipitation fell as snow!!
The maximum temperature for February was only 59 F on the 21st and the lowest minimum was
13 F recorded here on the 7th.
This year at the Richmond International Airport the highest temperature for the winter season was only 69 F
on December 3rd 2009.
The airport generally averages about four 70 F days each winter and there has only been 11 years since
the winter of 1925-26 that the temperature never reached 70 F.
The lowest barometric pressure of the month 29.40 inches was recorded on the 10th and the highest was
only 30.44 inches on February 4th .
This February was much colder, much wetter, snowier, and cloudier but less windy than February 2009.
WINTER RECORDS-- DECEMBER, JANUARY, FEBRUARY---
Fall MEAN Ashland Dep. PRECIP. Ashland Dep. SNOW Ashland Dep.
Temp. Average F Inches Average Inches Inches Average Inches
Dec. 37.60 38.97 -1.37 8.44 3.30 5.14 12.90 2.00 2.0
Jan. 35.42 36.12 -0.70 4.15 3.36 0.79 12.60 5.80 6.8
Feb. 34.63 39.15 -4.52 3.93 3.00 0.93 16.10 5.00 11.1
SUM 107.65 114.24 -6.59 16.52 9.66 6.86 41.60 12.80 28.8
AVE. 35.88 38.08 -2.20 5.51 3.22 2.29 13.87 4.27 9.60
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MARCH
MARCH 2010 SUMMARY
March was warmer than average as the monthly mean temperature was 50.8 F, a 4.1 F departure,
and was also much wetter than average (when compared to Ashland, Virginia records).
The 5.72 inches of rain for March was a +1.97 inch departure when compared to the Ashland, VA average.
The maximum rainfall recorded in a day was 1.38 inches on the 28th.
The total snowfall was only 0.4 inches for the month recorded on the 2nd which was a -1.3 inch departure
compared to Ashland, Virginia records.
March this year was both warmer and wetter and far less snowfall than March of last year.
There were 9 days the minimum temperature dropped below freezing.
The maximum temperature for March was 78 F on the 20th; last year it was 83 F.
The lowest minimum was 24 F recorded here on the 7th; last year the minimum temperature was 7 F
and a record low for March.
Very low relative humidity on the 7th and 8th of 14% here and the Richmond International Airport on
the 8th at 1400 had 9% relative humidity and a dew point of 4 F which is the lowest I have ever seen.
I haven't been able to find the record low relative humidity for the Richmond International Airport and
would appreciate hearing from anyone who has this information!!
The maximum wind gust of 44 mph occurred on the 28th at 2028 hours and was the highest wind gust
recorded here since records were started in August of 2008.
The lowest barometric pressure was 29.29 inches on the 13th the lowest since April 3, 2009 when the
pressure was 29.24 inches.
January’s minimum pressure was nearly as low at 29.30 inches on the 25th when we had a 41 mph gust.
The highest barometer recorded for the month was 30.37 inches on the 27th which was less than normal.
APRIL
April 2010
April was much warmer than average as the monthly mean temperature was 61.5 F, a +4.9 F mean
temperature departure, and was much drier than average when compared to Ashland, Virginia records.
The 1.94 inches of rain for April was a -1.13 inch departure when compared to the Ashland, VA average
and the driest month since February 2009.
The maximum rainfall recorded in a day was only 0.55 inches on the 8th.
Measurable precipitation occurred on only eight days and this was the clearest month since October 2008.
The total wind run for the month was 635 miles less than last April and the daily average temperature range
was higher than last April by 4 F due in part because of the clear skies.
The maximum temperature for April was 91 F on the 7th and there were two days (6h, 7th) that the
temperature was 90 F or higher.
The lowest minimum was 36 F recorded on the 18th, 28th, and 29th and there were four days with light
scattered frost but frost didn't kill tender annual plants.
The lowest dew point temperature was on the 17th at 1826 at 23.3 F.
The maximum wind gust was 39 mph from the south that occurred on the 8th at 1307.
The highest barometer recorded for the month was 30.57 inches on the 14th which was the highest
barometer reading since December 12th of 2009 when it was 30.63 inches.
The lowest was 29.18 inches on the 26th, the lowest barometric pressure recorded since January 9th, 2009
when it was 29.17 inches.
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MAY
MAY 2010 SUMMARY
May was warmer than average and 1.6 F warmer than May last year as the monthly mean temperature was
69.6 F, a +5.0 F departure, and was below average in precipitation (when compared to Ashland, Virginia records).
The 2.56 inches of precipitation for May was a -1.29 inch departure when compared to the Ashland, VA average.
The last four days of April and the first ten days of May made 14 days with no measurable rainfall.
The maximum precipitation recorded in a day was only 0.72 inches on the 17th and thunder was heard
on five days during May.
The maximum temperature for May was 91 F on the 27th and there were 11 days that the maximum
temperature was 85 F or above.
The highest minimum temperature recorded here for the month was 74 F on May 2nd.
The Richmond International Airport had a minimum of 72 F which was a new all-time record for earliest
occurrence of a minimum temperature of 70 degrees or higher.
This establishes a new record for the earliest in season occurrence of a minimum temperature of 70 degrees
or higher breaking the old record of 70 degrees set on May 11, 1916.
This breaks the old record of 66 set in 2004. It was also interesting that six of the minimum temperatures for
the month occurred at midnight.
The lowest minimum was 39 F recorded on the 10th. The lowest dew point temperature for May was 27 F
on the 9th at 1824 and the highest dew point was 74.8 F on the 30th at 1631.
The lowest relative humidity for the month was 18 % on the 8th giving a large daily temperature range of 31 F on the 21st.
The average temperature range was 20.2 F and was about 0.5 F more than last year.
The maximum wind gust was only 28 mph from the SSE that occurred on the 8th at 1347.
May was less windy and was sunnier that May last year.
The Spring Season was much warmer than average and a little drier than average when compared to Ashland, VA records.
Temp, 2010 Precip. 2010
Ashland Mean Temp. Ashland Precip. Precip.
Average Temp. Depart. Ave. Inches Depart.
Mar. 46.74 50.84 +4.10 3.75 5.72 +1.97
Apr. 56.61 61.53 +4.92 3.07 1.94 -1.13
May 64.56 69.60 +5.04 3.85 2.56 -1.29
SUM 167.91 181.97 +14.06 10.67 10.22 -0.45
AVE. 55.97 60.66 + 4.69 3.56 3.41 -0.15
SPRING RECORDS-- MARCH, APRIL, MAY---
- 10.22 inches Total seasonal precip. Average is 10.67 inches
Departure was -0.15 inches
- 55.97 F seasonal mean temperature Average is 60.66 F
Departure was +4.69 F
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JUNE
JUNE 2010 SUMMARY
June was hotter than average and 4.8 F warmer than June last year as the monthly mean temperature was 80.1 F,
a +7.8 F departure, and was much below average in precipitation (when compared to Ashland, Virginia records).
The average maximum temperature for the month was 90.8 F which is extremely rare for June.
The 1.11 inches of precipitation for June was a -2.37 inch departure when compared to the Ashland, VA average.
The last 14 days of June had temperatures of 90 F or hotter except for one day and this period had only 0.04 inches rain.
The maximum precipitation recorded in a day was only 0.49 inches on the 3rd and thunder was heard on six days
during June but many of the storms missed our area.
The maximum temperature for June was 100 F on the 27th and 28th and there were 20 days that the maximum
temperature was 90 F or above.
The highest minimum temperature recorded here for the month was 76 F on June 28th.
There were also 18 days that the minimum temperature was 70 F or higher.
The Richmond International Airport reported the mean temperature for June was 81 F which was a new 113 year record,
the hottest June on record.
This breaks the old record of 79.2 F set in 1943 and was and +8.7 F departure from average.
It was also interesting that the Richmond International Airport had three days with a 102 F reading.
Only three days in the last 113 years has the Airport had a higher temperature in June and previous to this year it had
never had more than one 102 F reading.
The 102 F maximum temperature record at Richmond International Airport was also the highest temperature recorded
there since August 8, 2007 when they recorded a maximum temperature of 104 F.
The lowest dew point temperature for June was 38.1 F on the 8th at 1106 and the highest dew point was 76.9 F on the 13th at 1518.
The average daily temperature range was 21.4 F almost +2.5 F more than last June due to the arid conditions
and because of many days with clear skies.
Also the lowest daily temperature range for June was 13 F.
The Spring Season at the Richmond International Airport was the warmest spring in their 113 years of records.
Lets hope this isn’t the hottest summer on record!
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JULY
July was extremely hot not only the hottest here but Richmond International Airport had a mean monthly average of 82.8 F
with the previous record of 82.4 F in 1993.
The only month that was hotter in the past 113 years was August of 1900 with a mean temperature of 82.9 F.
The July mean average temperature here was 82.0 F a +5.6 F departure when compared to Ashland’s average and
+4.9 F warmer here when compared to last July.
The 4.37 inches of rainfall for July was a +0.02 inch departure when compared to Ashland’s average.
The West Henrico Co. – Glen Allen Station was very lucky on rainfall as we had two thunderstorms few others received.
July had 10 days with measurable rain. The 0.35 inches of rain that occurred in five minutes on the 29th was the fifth
most intense in the past 25 months.
July had 22 days with 90 F or above temperatures and the Airport had 24 and the 113 year record for July is 26 days in 1993.
The maximum temperature for July was 103 F recorded on July 24th which is the highest maximum temperature ever recorded here.
The 105 F recorded at the Airport on the 24th and 25th also ties the highest maximum temperature ever recorded in July in Richmond.
The Airport has now had ten days in 2010 with the temperature 100 F or more; the old record is nine in 1954.
The high of 105 F and low of 79 F on these two dates yields a daily average temp of 92.0 F which breaks the
all-time daily mean temp of 91.5.
Thus making these two dates the hottest ever recorded in the past 113 years for the month of July.
The minimum temperature here on the 25th was 79.3 F at 2349 or 79 F which makes it the warmest night recorded
at the Glen Allen area station since its start in July of 2008.
On 23 nights the minimum temperature was 70 F or higher.
A wind gust of 30 mph on the 14th and 16th is not thought to be the strongest wind gust recorded for July.
The northwesterly wind during the thunderstorm on the 29th was thought to be at least 35 to 40 mph but was
blocked by trees in that direction.
I plan to move the anemometer soon to a higher location.
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AUGUST
AUGUST 2010 SUMMARY
August was very hot, the only months that were hotter were June and July of this year although August of last year was nearly as hot.
But as West Henrico Co. – Glen Allen station only opened in August of 2008 we use the Airport for historic records.
Using the mean temperatures for the Richmond International Airport, this August was the seventh hottest of the 113 years
of records and August 2009 was in eighth place.
The month’s average temperature here was 77.4 F a +4.2 F departure when compared to Ashland’s average and only 0.1 F
warmer here when compared to last August.
The 3.97 inches of rainfall for August was only 0.11 inch less than average when compared to Ashland’s average.
The West Henrico Co. – Glen Allen Station had thunder on 8 days but several thunderstorms went to the SW or south.
August had more humidity than July. The average relative humidity for July was 63.5 % and for August 72.7 % thus the heat was felt more.
On the 5th after rain just before midnight of the 4th, the morning broke hot and steamy.
The Davis Pro recorded a high dew point of 80.4 F at 1355 and a heat index of 115.7 F.
I think these values might be as much as 2 F high but at any rate it is the highest I have ever seen displayed on the Davis Pro 2.
August had 12 days with measurable rain with 1.19 inches of rain that occurred on the 12th in a thunderstorm which was about 30% of the month’s rain.
August had 16 days with 90 F or above temperatures and the Airport had 17 days.
The maximum temperature for August was 97 F recorded on August 10th, 11th, and 30th and the lowest minimum temperature for the month was only 66 F.
This is a very high minimum temperature for the month.
A wind gust of 33 mph that was recorded on the 5th occurred at 1725 during a thunderstorm and was the strongest wind gust recorded for August.
On the 7th I wired in a new anemometer that is now approximately 45 feet above the ground and should improve my wind observations.
The summer was the hottest summer Richmond has ever experienced.
The summer season average was 1.7 F hotter than the previous summer season record of 79.6 F set in the summer of 1900.
The West Henrico Co. – Glen Allen station had a summer season average of 80.5 F and the Richmond International Airport had 81.3 F
or +0.8 F hotter than western Henrico.
The summer was the driest on the West Henrico Co. – Glen Allen VA Station records but still wetter than Richmond by 3.52 inches.
The summer for Richmond was the third driest in the 113 years of records.
SUMMER RECORDS-- JUNE, JULY, AUGUST---
Temp, 2010 2010 Precip. 2010 Glen Allen
Summer Ashland Glen Allen Glen Allen Ashland Glen Allen Precip.
30Y Ave. Ave. Dep. F 30Y Ave. Inches Dep. inches
June 72.30 80.08 7.8 3.48 1.11 -2.37
July 76.40 81.97 5.6 4.35 4.37 0.02
Aug 75.24 79.44 4.2 4.08 3.97 -0.11
SUM 223.94 241.49 17.55 11.91 9.45 -2.46
AVE. 74.65 80.50 5.85 3.97 3.15 -0.82
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SEPTEMBER
SEPTEMBER 2010 SUMMARY
September was hotter than average and 5.1 F warmer than September last year as the monthly
mean temperature was 74.3 F, a + 5.7 F departure.
It was much below average in precipitation until the last few days (when compared to Ashland,
Virginia records).
The average maximum temperature for the month was 86.0 F which is high for September.
The 5.11 inches of precipitation for September was a plus 1.24 inch departure when compared
to the Ashland, VA average.
The first 25 days of September were very dry with only 0.13 inches rain.
What made the drought worse was it started back in August.
From August 23 to Sep. 26, 2010 a period of 34 days only 0.14 inches of rainfall was recorded.
The maximum precipitation recorded in a day was a new record for this station with 3.39 inches
on the 30th and no thunder was heard during September.
This station had new rainfall records for the 29th and 30th giving a total of 4.63 inches.
The Airport being farther east had 2.25 inches on the 29th and 3.69 inches on the 30th for a
total of 5.94 inches.
The previous records for September 29th - 30th both occurred in 1924.
Norfolk saw winds that reached 76 mph sustained from a cyclone that became non-tropical
over the Southeast U.S. on these same dates.
Similarly Nicole was a tropical storm with less wind but provided more rain than the 1924 storm.
(***Ref see below)
Surprising as it may seem the Airport, with a September total of 6.49 inches, made it the 13th
wettest September in the past 113 years.
The maximum temperature for September was 97 F on the 23rd and there were 10 days
that the maximum temperature was 90 F or above.
The highest minimum temperature recorded here for the month was 72 F on September 24th.
The Richmond International Airport reported the mean temperature for September was 74.7 F
which was the 7th warmest September of the past 113 Septembers on record.
Most of September was dry with clear conditions and was the clearest month recorded
at this station since records were started in August of 2008.
This also was a factor in making this September highest daily temperature range average of 23.3 F
the highest of the past 3 Septembers and the relative humidity was the lowest in the past 3 Septembers.
(***Ref. Virginia Hurricane History see website ---)
http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/research/roth/vahur.htm
OCTOBER
OCTOBER 2010 SUMMARY
October was warmer and wetter than the past three Octobers at the Glen Allen Station.
The monthly mean temperature was 60.8 F, a +3.5 F departure when compared to the Ashland, VA average.
This was the warmest October since 2007 according to the Richmond International Airport records.
The 4.36 inches of precipitation for October at Glen Allen was a +0.93 inch departure when compared to the Ashland, VA average.
Almost 50 percent of this precipitation fell in the last five days with 2.06 inches falling on the October 27th.
The maximum temperature for October was 89 F and the lowest minimum temperature was 34 F recorded on October 30.
There were two frosts in October, one was extremely light on the 22nd and, the second on the 30th,
was light and neither killed any plants observed in this area.
The Richmond International Airport recorded three records this month.
The maximum temperature of 87 recorded on the 12th tied the record for the date; previous records were 1962 and 1954.
On October 9th the maximum temperature was 84 after a low of 46 giving a daily temperature range of 38
the highest range ever recorded on that date.
On October 27 the minimum temperature was 70 which surpassed the old record of 66 set in 1977.
The highest dew point temperature for October was 72.6 F on the 27th at 1650 that made it feel like a summer's day.
It occurred during a thunderstorm that later generated a tornado near Cold Harbor Road.
The lowest dew point was 30.9 F on the 22nd at 1514.
The lowest relative humidity for the month was 25 percent on the 9th giving a large daily temperature range of 37 F.
The average temperature range for October was 22.9 F which was 3.8 F more than last year.
The maximum wind gust was 30 mph from the NW that occurred on the 1st at 504.
October was less windy and was sunnier than October 2009.
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NOVEMBER
November was warmer than average as the monthly mean temperature was 49.8 F, a +2.0 F mean temperature departure,
and was much drier than average when compared to Ashland, Virginia records.
The 1.85 inches of rain for November was a -1.33 inch departure when compared to the Ashland, VA average and
the driest month since June 2010.
It was also the driest November in the past three years.
The maximum rainfall recorded in a day was 1.12 inches on the 4th which was 61 percent of the month’s rainfall.
Measurable precipitation occurred on only eight days and tied with September for the clearest month since August of 2008.
The clear weather of November gave the highest daily average temperature range in the past three years of 23.1 F.
The maximum temperature for November was 74 F on the 23rd.
The lowest minimum was 26 F recorded on the 29th and there were six days with less than or equal to 32 F.
The frost of the 7th killed the more sensitive plants and the frost of the 28th was a hard freeze killing most annual plants.
The lowest dew point temperature was on the 27th at 0222 at 18.8 F.
The maximum wind gust was only 25 mph from the WSW that occurred on the 24th at 1000 hrs.
The highest barometer recorded for the month was 30.52 inches on the 29th which was the highest barometer reading
since April of 2010 when it was 30.57 inches.
The Richmond International Airport had 1.27 inches of rain the 25th driest November of the past 113 years.
The Airport had a mean temperature of 49.95 F which was the 44th warmest November of the past 113 years.
They set only one record for the date on Nov 4th for the lowest daily temperature range of 4 F; the previous record of 6 F
was set in 1904, 2004, 2008.
Fall Mean Ashland Dep. Precip. Ashland Dep. Snow Ashland Dep.
Temp. Ave. F Inches Ave. Inches Inches Ave. Inches
Sep 74.33 68.65 5.68 5.11 3.87 1.24 0.0 0.0 0.0
Oct 60.76 57.29 3.47 4.36 3.43 0.93 0.0 T 0.0
Nov 49.83 47.88 1.95 1.85 3.18 -1.33 0.0 0.4 -0.4
SUM 184.92 173.82 11.10 11.32 10.48 0.84 0.0 0.4 -0.4
AVE. 61.64 57.94 3.7 F 3.77 3.49 0.28 0.0 0.1 -0.1
The fall season was 3.7 F warmer when compared to Ashland’s averages and the rainfall was +0.28 inches above the average.
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DECEMBER
- DECEMBER 2010 SUMMARY
December was much colder than average as the monthly mean temperature was 32.7 F,
a -6.3 F departure, and was drier than average (when compared to Ashland, VA records).
The average mean temperature this year was 10.5 F lower than 2008 and 5.0 F colder than last year's.
December was the coldest month of the year, even colder than January.
The first and last days of December were the warmest two days of the month.
If you remove them, the highest temperature for December was only 47 F.
There were 30 days where the minimum temperature dropped below freezing.
The mean temperature for the Richmond International Airport was 33.3 F
which made December the 6th coldest in the past 113 years.
The coldest December was 1917 which had a mean temperature of 30.1 F.
December had 7.6 inches of snow which was a departure of +5.6 inches when compared to Ashland’s average December snowfall.
The 3.02 inches of precipitation for December was -0.28 inch departure when compared to the Ashland, VA average.
The maximum precipitation recorded in a day was 1.47 inches on December 1.
The storm of the 25th and 26th gave us only 3.3 inches of snow.
The airport had 4.6 inches and it was a major storm for Portsmouth, Norfolk, and the NE coastal locations.
The 2.7 inches at the airport was the first snow on Christmas day since 1993 when only 0.1 inch occurred,
but it was the most snow on Christmas Day since 1962 when 4.3 inches occurred.
December at the airport also had four days with measurable snowfall which was the most since 1993.
The maximum temperature for December was a warm 66 F on December 1st and the lowest minimum was 14 F recorded here on the 15th.
The lowest barometric pressure of the month was 29.25 inches and recorded on the 12th and 13th; the highest was only 30.37 inches on December 9th and 10th.
The maximum wind gust for the month was 32 mph that occurred on the 1st and 23rd of the month.
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