THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, August 7, 1995 TAG: 9508070037
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 46 lines
A nice day at last?
It could be, as the remnants of Hurricane Erin move away and a cold front moves through, promising to bring partly sunny skies and drier, less humid weather.
And if the forecast holds, Nature will have penned the final entry for the longest heat wave on record in Hampton Roads. Every day since July 12, the mercury has climbed to 90 or higher. Sunday's high of 93 at the National Weather Service office at Norfolk International Airport was the 26th day in the oven. The old record, set in 1977 and matched in 1980, was 15 days.
Sunday joined the 90-plus club even though the sun played hooky. Instead, Hampton Roads' skies were dominated by gray clouds sweeping around the remnants of Erin, which was centered over the mid-Atlantic states Sunday afternoon.
Showers and thunderstorms from the system's wide-ranging rain bands moved across Southeast Virginia, with some storm damage reported in Virginia Beach from felled trees and limbs.
For the most part, however, the result was much-welcomed rainfall over wide sections of Hampton Roads, although amounts varied from place to place.
A cold front over northern Virginia on Sunday was expected to move south into North Carolina overnight and bring an end to the rain over most of the area. Low pressure along the front will move offshore and dry air from high pressure over the northeast will provide Hampton Roads and Northeast North Carolina with partly sunny skies today, although it will be windy.
The high today is forecast to be only in the lower 80s, much more seasonal than the hot weather of the past three weeks.
Tonight should be fair and breezy with a low in the low-to-mid 70s.
Tuesday should be partly sunny with a high in the lower 80s.
While this would signal the end of the heat wave, summer is far from over. And a return to hot, sticky weather is expected Wednesday and Thursday. Both days are forecast to be partly sunny, hot and humid with a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs should be in the upper 80s to low 90s each day with overnight lows in the 70s. by CNB