Surface smoke levels will increase slightly for Thursday, which will see very similar weather to today's conditions. I expect very poor air quality in central Virginia on Friday.

Check out the wildfire smoke as seen on our Carter Mountain towercam and on the visible satellite within the white circle.

Wildfire smoke from western Ontario, Canada, will push southward on Friday resulting in poor air quality across central Virginia. Those with respiratory ailments & high snesitivity will be most affected. FWIW: most smoke particles are large enough to be blocked by N95/KN95 masks.

Overnight lows will be in the upper 60s for most. Wednesday will see highs around 100° with heat indices up to 105°. Expect a full day of sunshine, too. Outdoors? Wear sun protection & stay hydrated!

Wildfire smoke originating in western Ontario is being transported into the northeastern United States & Mid-Atlantic. It will continue through tomorrow and may result in a reddish hue to the skies at sunrise & sunset. You might even be able to smell the smoke at times.

Overnight lows will be in the lower to middle 60s for most (thank you, drier air). Expect a full day of sunshine on Tuesday with noticeable but tolerable humidity levels and highs in the lower 90s. Triple-digit highs will return for the second half of the week.

RAIN SHAFT

Now under a *severe thunderstorm watch* until 10pm Thursday: Greene, Madison, Culpeper, Orange, Louisa, and Fluvanna Counties. Main threats: torrential rain and damaging winds.

Thrusday will be warmer with highs near 90°. The window of opportunity for drenching showers and storms opens after 1pm EDT.

Expect scattered showers overnight. Wednesday will be humid with scattered showers throughout the day and some thunderstorms after noon. Our severe weather threat will be low, but storms could produce locally heavy rain. Flooding concerns will be elevated over the next few days.

The threat for severe storms (damaging winds, hail) this afternoon & evening is MUCH lower than recent days, but any storms that form could produce a lot of rain. This is why we're under a flood watch (potential) until midnight.

Showers will linger overnight and there may be a few rumbles of thunder. Skies will be mostly cloudy Tuesday and storms producing gusty winds and torrential rain will be possible after 2pm. Though humid, high temperatures will be in the middle 80s.

It's easy to see when the thunderstorms moved over CHO airport this afternoon:

Rainfall rates with this NE Albemarle County storm are in excess of 5"/hour near Stony Point & Cash Corner.

This thunderstorm in northeastern Albemarle County west of Gordonsville is a very slow-moving storm producing a lot of lightning. If you live along route 20 near Stony Point or an area prone to flooding I'd be on the watch for rapidly rising water levels.

*SEVERE T-STORM WARNING* now in effect until 5:30pm for NE Albemarle, SW Orange, SE Greene Counties. Main threats: 60mph winds + quarter-sized hail. Moving: southeast @ 15mph. Affected: Hollymead, Gordonsville, Ruckersville, Cobham, Eheart, Barboursville, Keswick, Stony Point.

Both lanes of I-64 westbound are CLOSED at MM 104 due to a multi-vehicle crash.

Nice shelf cloud working across central Virginia right now…

The first showers and storms are developing in central Virginia. Damaging wind gusts and torrential rain/flooding will be storm threats from now through late tonight.

Since records began in the 1890s, UVA's McCormick Observatory has hit its all-time record high of 107° four times. Make that 5. McCormick hit 107° again this past July 3. (Though the observation says July 4, McCormick does 8am-8am measurements so the high of 107° came the previous afternoon.)

Once again severe t-storms will be possible across central Virginia this afternoon. Damaging, straight-line winds remain the greatest threat although torrential rain will be a concern in enhancing flooding potential, especially in places that have seen a lot of rain the past few days.

*SEVERE T-STORM WARNING* now in effect until 8:45pm for western Greene & western Madison Counties. Main threat: 60mph wind gusts. Heading: north @ 10mph. Affected: Stanardsville, Big Meadows, Lydia, Wolftown, Hood.

*SEVERE T-STORM WARNING* now in effect until 6:30pm for eastern Orange & eastern Culpeper Counties. Main threat: 60mph wind gusts. Heading: northeast @ 25mph. Affected: Locust Grove, Lake Of The Woods, Wilderness, Chancellorsville.

Thunderstorm in SE Louisa County has prompted a flash flood warning. It's also producing a lot of lightning and is moving slowly toward Lake Anna. Out on the water? Time to bring things indoors.

Once again severe thunderstorms will be possible this afternoon. Window: 12p-6p. Main threat: damaging, straight-line winds. Torrential rain and hail will be possible, too.

We've seen quite the temperature drop in Charlottesville since the arrival of the thunderstorms. By the way, 101° was our official high today and a new daily record.

*SEVERE T-STORM WARNING* now in effect until 7:30pm for Fluvanna & Louisa Counties. Threat: 60mph wind gusts. Heading: northeast @ 30mph. Affected: Lake Monticello, Palmyra, Fork Union, Columbia, Kents Store, Bybee, Ferncliff.

*SEVERE T-STORM WARNING* now in effect until 7pm for Buckingham County. Threat: 60mph wind gusts. Heading: north at 25mph. Affected: Yogaville, Forks of Buffalo.

*SEVERE T-STORM WARNING* now in effect until 6:15pm for eastern Orange County. Threat: 60mph wind gusts. Heading: NE @ 35mph. Affected: Locust Grove, Lake Of The Woods, Wilderness.

*SEVERE T-STORM WARNING* now in effect until 7:00pm for: Charlottesville + Orange, Albemarle, Greene, & SW Orange Counties. Threat: 60mph wind gusts. Heading: NE @ 35mph. Affected: C'ville, Orange, Crozet, Shipman, Afton, Wintergreen, Hollymead, Ruckersville.