I think we’re done with storms tonight.  We dodged a bullet but Ruckersville, over in Greene County, reported hail 4.25 inches in diameter.  Even more, it covered the ground and was six inches deep!

Once again we’re faced with an evening commute featuring potentially rough storms. The Storm Prediction Center has placed us under a Moderate Risk for severe storms. They break down severity types and tag them with our chances:

Tornado: 2%
Severe hail (.75in or larger): 30%
Severe wind (58mph or more) 45%

Additionally, there is a 10% chance of winds gusting to more than 74mph, which is hurricane levels.

The National Weather Service is also launching a 2:00 weather balloon for more data. Normally they’re launched at 8:00 every morning and evening, but whenever the mid-afternoon balloon goes up, you know they’re preparing for a busy shift.

Be careful tonight.

The idea for fburgnews.com circled around my brain for awhile. I finally took advantage of a free weekend and banged it out.

Fredericksburg needs a greater diversity of media coverage, so hopefully by consolidating all of it (or what little there is) will help.

Additionally, I want to line up bloggers and others to contribute to the original content part (thanks Bryan!) to allow more voices to be heard. It’s not my site, I just want to push the snowball down the hill and see what happens.

The inclusion of local blogs and the RSS feed from local media is designed to allow readers to experience not just a diversity of news but different types of media as well.

There are a few kinks still to be worked out… it needs more contributors, it needs a working weather station at Fredericksburg (we’ve been stuck at 77 degrees for a week), and it needs suggestions.

Thoughts?

Mark your calendars - according to an informational email from the VRE, next Thursday “the Governor will hold a town hall meeting in Fredericksburg to discuss funding of public transportation from 7pm - 8:30pm at the Jepson Alumni Executive Center Ballroom (1119 Hanover St).”

Apparently we will be able to share our views on transportation… so, get your views in order.  Make some up if you have to.

These past few weeks have seen beautiful temperatures, scorching heat, tornadoes, more wind damage, and fog.

Ready or not, summer’s here with a roar.

The good news is that there are tons of events downtown, so you have no excuse to get out and explore. What’s not to like about getting exercise, learning a little history, and getting to know and appreciate your community?

So, when the weather is slightly more bearable (or calm), take a walk downtown - heck, bring your camera and upload the photo to the Fredericksburg Flickr group.

A 17 year old boy with a Maryland church group apparently drowned today in the river. Not a good weekend for the area.

Keith Epps at the Free Lance-Star reports that Officer Todd Bahr was killed by a suspect late last night with one shot to the head.  The suspect then later turned the gun on himself after a shootout with officers.  Officer Bahr’s body was not found until 15 minutes after the shot.

Wow.

Condolences and sympathy go out for his family.

We have a moderate risk today for severe storms - hail and wind will be the primary threat, but a tornado could form as well.

Meanwhile, a flash flood watch is in effect until 6pm.

Expect the bulk of the rain to occur mid-to-late afternoon, with some possibly spilling over into the evening.

Just in time for rush-hour.

My dad called to tell me he was going to go out and watch the storm that hit Fredericksburg today.  I declined as I had been gone all weekend and the prospect of being in the car even longer was not appealing.  I did go outside and watched the storm roll in at our condo complex.  

Note the “greenage”, indicative of hail.  There’s some cool lightning in the video as well.  The wind gusts are pretty impressive - I retreated back inside just before the worst hit.  The sirens in the background near the end were a bit worrisome.

The SPC reports that “many trees” are down in Fredericksburg, a tree fell over 218 in White Oak, and power lines are down over Harrison Road.

Dominion reports over 23,000 outages in Northern Virginia, with the vast majority centered over Fredericksburg. I’m sure we’ll hear of more damage, but nothing like last month’s storm.

UPDATE:  Here’s a picture we snapped at Hanover/Lee/Kenmore.

According to the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla, there is a Moderate Risk of severe weather today.  Watch out.