THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 23, 1994 TAG: 9407230194
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
Keep the sunglasses and the umbrella handy. Chances are, you'll be using both this weekend. Interchangeably. Possibly hourly.
Unsettled, tropical weather that changes swiftly from sunny skies to thunderstorms will continue - with the threat of localized flooding possible in areas already soaked by near-daily rain.
For example, in the Sherry Park section of Virginia Beach, near the intersection of Indian River Road and Military Highway, just over 8 inches of rain fell in the last five days, leaving gardens muddy and lawns growing out of control.
At the National Weather Service office at Norfolk International Airport, almost 7 1/2 inches of rain has fallen this month - more than twice normal.
Storms also brought scattered power outages.
As long as the thunderstorms continue to pop up, the lightning threat also remains. And it is heightened by the nature of the storms. People enticed outside when the sun peeks through for several hours are being caught exposed when the storms swell up.
For the third time in a week, a person reported being struck by lightning on Friday.
An employee of Norshipco said he was struck while working at the yard's Brambleton plant.
``Apparently he was in a good enough condition to drive from the Brambleton plant to the Berkley plant,'' where he saw a company nurse, a spokesman said. The nurse sent the man to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital for a checkup.
A line of low pressure is aligned north-south through central North Carolina and Virginia. Meanwhile, a flow of moist air from the south is keeping the atmosphere unstable and allowing for rapid development of showers and thunderstorms along the low-pressure line.
The resulting high humidity made for a sticky Friday. Even though cloudy skies and meandering storms kept temperatures below 90 - Norfolk's high was 86 - it felt warmer and more uncomfortable.
At 3 p.m., for instance, it was 89 in Newport News. But with humidity at 61 percent, it felt like it was 108.
While the low-pressure line is expected to move away by this morning, another will cross into the mid-Atlantic region today, the Weather Service said, continuing the chance for showers and thunderstorms.
Flash-flood watches were issued in several areas Friday.
The forecast for this weekend calls for a lot of clouds and the chance for mainly afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms each day.
There is a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms today, with a high in the mid-80s and southwest winds at 10 mph or less.
Tonight should be partly cloudy, with a low in the mid-60s.
Sunday should be partly sunny and quite warm, but a bit less humid, with a high in the mid-80s.
KEYWORDS: WEATHER by CNB