Satellite image this morning shows smoke over Virginia — which had its origins from wildfires in western Ontario, Canada.

Happy to support my friend @salaambhattiva.bsky.social for Congress in the primary this summer for Virginia's First Congressional District. Virgnia has open primaries, so all registered voters can cast a ballot in the primary. Early voting is ongoing, or vote in person on August 4.

At The Rally Against Data Centers — on Capitol Square in Richmond, VA.

No. That's not how it works. That's not how any of this works. (throws hat against the wall)

The building El Niño — the periodic warming of the water in the eastern Pacific Ocean along the equator — is striking. Note how much higher the white line is — compared to the rest.

When you see "Virginia Connects" in your feeds, remember it is a public relations production of The Data Center Coalition — whose members include Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Zuckerberg's Meta platforms. Per Bloomberg:

At the Hampton Park 4th of July Parade w/ @chesterfielddemsva.bsky.social & supporting @salaambhattiva.bsky.social — running for Congress in my home district (VA-01). We have open primaries in Virginia — all who are registered can vote. Early voting is ongoing — or vote in person on August 4.

Rain estimates from July 4 around RVA. For most of us, it was a miss. But Hanover County got heavy rain, with pockets of hail and wind damage (numerous trees down in Ashland). Much more tree damage farther north/west - into Louisa, Fluvanna, Caroline, and Spotsylvania Counties late yesterday.

5:30pm. Slow-moving, drenching t-storms centered from Brookneal, Lynchburg, Charlottesville, Louisa, and Fredericksburg (yielding some rain in Hanover County). Not convinced they make it to RVA, but some new storms still possible in next few hours. (had a tiny shower here in Midlothian at 2:30)

The warming climate — from the burning of oil, coal, and fossil (aka natural) gas — is making heatwaves more intense. While warmer in Earth's distant past, our current economy, transportation, and agriculture are based on the 19th and early 20th century climate. Adaptations will be needed.

Special video RVA Weather Brief for this 4th of July. Hot again, yes. Increasingly concerned about a gusty evening t-storm.

Not much better in our relatively well shaded neighborhood.

Do not recommend.

3pm temperatures across RVA. Officially... as high as 95°... as a broken deck of clouds and a SE breeze have tempered the heat on the airport property where that reading is taken. Elsewhere, a few degrees either side of 100°. 103° jumping out in Glen Allen, Wyndham, and Short Pump.

Even if you are healthy, high heat and humidity are serious stresses to the body. Sweat does not evaporate as easily in the high humidity, so the body works even harder to cool itself. (graphic from @climatecentral.org)

In the last 20 years, coal has tanked and fossil gas (aka natural gas) has skyrocketed. Natural gas has become cheaper. BTW: "Renewables" includes wood, which is why it dominates in the first century of the republic.

Climate change and the heatwave. I encourage you to think about it this way.

Great to finally meet @amylaufer55.bsky.social (w/ my Sierra Club friend Bob Shippee) to present her a Sierra Club award for her legislative work this General Assembly session — testing for forever chemicals (PFAS) and advancing agrivoltaics.

The Magnificent Seven. Running for the Democratic nomination to unseat the GOP incumbent this fall in Virginia's 1st Congressional District.

Data this morning still pointing to a serious heat wave later this coming week for all of Virginia — with heat peaking Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (Richmond afternoons: 98°-102°). And yes, humid. This means nights hold in the upper 70s.

Got a good seat for the @markwarner.bsky.social town hall here in western Henrico County.

Friday morning RVA weather brief: • Few showers and storms next 3 days • No significant drought relief • Heatwave brewing for next week and July 4 Get the weather brief to your inbox: seansublette.substack.com

Rain totals from around RVA over the last couple of days. Next chance of rain comes in the form of more scattered showers and thunderstorms Friday and Saturday.

Wednesday morning RVA weather brief: • Low humidity with sunshine • Scattered showers, t-storms Friday & Saturday • Hot and dry early next week Get the weather brief right to your inbox! seansublette.substack.com

All that orange and red? Those are water temperatures, with respect to normal, in the eastern Pacific Ocean along the equator. A classic sign of the building El Niño. Virginia impact? This coming winter will likely be wetter (not snowier) than normal. And it suppresses hurricane development.

Tuesday morning RVA weather brief: • Nuisance morning showers • Main event is noon to 6pm • Locally intense rain, potential flash flooding • Isolated wind damage to trees • All ends before dusk • Sunny, lower humidity tomorrow More at: seansublette.substack.com

Weather map for western France below. Current temperatures (late afternoon France time: 1600 UTC). • Bordeaux: 106°F • Le Mans: 104°F • Nantes: 104°F • Orléans: 102°F • Toulouse: 102°F • Paris: 99°F Normal highs are in the 70s to near 80.

Monday morning RVA weather brief: • T-storms expected this afternoon/evening • Damaging wind gusts in some storms • Lower humidity later this weeek Get the weather brief to your inbox! seansublette.substack.com

On the new state budget agreement, from @virginialcv.bsky.social: "We recognize the dedication of the conferees and their respective staff, but this budget comes up short. Virginians need stronger protections for their air, water, public health, and quality of life – and they deserve them now."

The USA's stripes pattern, on a traditional temperature scale — showing the warming versus the 50-year average (1961-2010).