THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, October 16, 1995 TAG: 9510160032
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 52 lines
From tropical summer to frosty fall, the seasons shifted abruptly and sometimes dramatically over the weekend in the mid-Atlantic region.
A strong cold front pushing southeast ran headlong into warm, moist air over the area Saturday, sparking some monsoon-like rains and thunderstorms that continued early Sunday, inundating some areas.
Once skies began to clear, the coldest air yet this fall surged in behind the front.
In Hampton Roads, temperatures were expected to dip into the low to mid-40s by early today. The mercury is forecast to make it into the mid-60s this afternoon followed by another chilly night tonight.
And it will be even colder inland where temperatures were expected to be near or below freezing before dawn today and again tonight. That could bring the first serious threat of a frost or freeze to areas west of the Washington and Baltimore metropolitan areas.
The weekend's downpours were spotty - drenching one place for a half-hour or more while leaving dry a spot just around the corner.
Almost an inch of rain fell at the National Weather Service office at Norfolk International Airport.
On the Virginia Beach-Norfolk Expressway Saturday afternoon, the first dose of heavy rains soaked the road and traffic churned up a misty white cloud. Then the sun broke through and the roadway mist rising above the traffic shimmered, looking like dusty snow.
That soaking - and the others that followed - contributed to numerous traffic accidents throughout the region.
And, in Hampton, the stormy weather brought a large tree down on a two-year-old home in the Michaels Woods section of the city. Part of the tree smashed through the roof, but no one inside was injured.
Firefighters cut away part of the tree and put tarps over the damaged roof to protect the house from rainfall.
Thus far in October, 2.63 inches of rain have fallen at the airport, nearly twice as much as normal. And the rainfall deficit for the year is continuing to shrink. So far, 28.83 inches have been measured at the airport, 8 inches below normal.
Just over 2 inches of rain were recorded on North Carolina's Outer Banks.
Northern Virginia, Maryland and Washington, which have experienced record drought conditions in the past two months, were drenched Saturday. A procession of heavy rainstorms moved over National Airport, dumping 3.36 inches of rain. by CNB