Potomac Bay Estates

The Potomac Bay Estates Property Owners’ Association Board of Directors will meet:
— Friday, January 15, 2021
— 1:00 PM
— In-person (limited attendance) 4142 Newman’s Neck Road (Williams’ residence)
— Online ZOOM meeting details provided on request

PBE property owners are welcome to attend the Board meeting.

Because of COVID restrictions, in-person attendance is limited to a few Board members.

If you wish to attend online, please contact the Association by email potomacbaypoa@hotmail.com for instructions about attending the meeting online using ZOOM.

The meeting agenda is  here (MS Word document)    _v.01_0115_2021 Agenda PBE BOD_.

The National Weather Service Office in Wakefield VA has issued a severe weather warning for our area for Thursday, Dec 24.

Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Wakefield VA
1100 PM EST Wed Dec 23 2020

VAZ077-078-084>086-523>525-250400-
Northumberland-Lancaster-Gloucester-Middlesex-Mathews-York-
Newport News-Hampton/Poquoson-
1100 PM EST Wed Dec 23 2020

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for eastern Virginia and
southeast Virginia.

.DAY ONE…Tonight.

Hazardous weather is not expected at this time.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN…Thursday through Tuesday.

Widespread showers will accompany a strong cold front crossing the
region Thursday afternoon into Thursday evening. South winds will
become gusty to 25 to 35 mph ahead of the front. Periods of heavy
rainfall are possible.

The Accuweather forecast for our area calls for rain and high winds most of the day and into the night of Thursday, Dec 24. Forecast is for wind gusts approaching 50 MPH.
https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/heathsville/22473/daily-weather-forecast/336262?day=1

Several of us in the neighborhood have noticed that mail delivery has slowed or stopped over the past few days.  Some report not receiving mail while others are receiving very small amounts of mail, and, that is received long after it was postmarked.  (For example, one individual whose adult children mailed birthday cards to him a week before his birthday did not receive the cards until a week after the birthday.)

One of our neighbors spoke with the Postmaster at the Heathsville PO who said they are “not receiving mail”.

Mail to/from Heathsville is sorted through the Sandston sorting facility in the Richmond area; the delays may be at Sandston.

Small packages continue to arrive.  This may be because FedEx and UPS deliver small packages to the PO who delivers them to addressees, while large packages are delivered by the parcel service to the addressee.  In this case, small packages delivered by FedEx and UPS will continue to flow regardless of what happens to USPS mail.

If you have mailed items to anyone who has not received them, or, if you are expecting anything in the mail, this delay likely will affect you.

We will post any clarifying information we receive.

UPDATE:  One of our neighbors contacted the USPS center in Richmond about the lack of mail delivery to Heathsville.  He then contacted the Heathsville post office again and the postmaster told him that people from the Heathsville PO would go to Richmond and pick up mail for Heathsville.

We noticed that mail was delivered on Friday, Dec 18 — let’s see what happens on Saturday and next week.

Thanks to the Heathsville Post Office staff for doing their best to serve their customers.

The National Weather Service Office in Wakefield VA predicts cold, rain, and wind for our area all day Wednesday, Dec 16.

• Snow and wintry mix will remain to our west along the I-81 corridor
• Snow is likely north of DC with major snow anticipated for NY, NJ

Rain is expected to start in our neighborhood by 7:00 AM, Wednesday, Dec 16 and continue with a few breaks until after 7:00 PM.  High temp Wednesday 50, low 46.  Winds 5-8 MPH, gusts to 15 MPH.

Thursday, Dec 17:  Sun, clouds; Hi 48, low 32; no precipitation

Friday, Dec 18: Sun, clouds; Hi 48, low 31; no precipitation

Monday was a rainy, windy and cold day in our neighborhood.  Rain started at 7:00 AM, ended at 2:00 PM; we had 1.48 inches of rain.  Wind averaged 11 MPH with gusts to 28 MPH.  Ditches are still flooded, ground is wet and soft and likely will remain that way as more rain is coming our way.

Tuesday, Dec 15:  Sunshine, patchy clouds; hi temp 48, low temp 34.

Wednesday:  RAIN; hi 48, lo 38.

Here is the forecast from the National Weather Service, Wakefield VA.  Note that we are in the green area of the map, indicating rain while the yellow and orange areas likely will experience snow.

 

 

A major winter storm is approaching the Mid-Atlantic region and likely will bring rain, ice, snow, and freezing conditions Wednesday, Dec 16.

As of late Sunday afternoon, Dec 13, the storm appears to be moving to our north and bringing only rain and cold weather to us.  However, conditions can change.

This is the current weather statement from the National Weather Service Office, Wakefield VA.   As of 4:15 PM EST, Sunday, Dec 13:    Before the potential wintry weather on Wednesday, we will have to deal with a wet day tomorrow. Moderate to heavy rain overspreads the region later tonight into tomorrow morning with 1″ to 1.5″ of rain expected. We will post more details on the Wednesday event this evening.

Moderate to heavy rain in our area Monday, Dec 14.  Our area is in the 1 – 1.5 inch rain band.

Watch this website — we will post daily weather information for the next few days.

We recommend you check the weather forecast on the NWS Wakefield VA site as well as watching local TV stations from Richmond or DC.

The Accuweather forecast for our area is:

Monday, Dec 14:  Hi 46,   Lo 32; Periods of rain

Tuesday, Dec 15:  44, 31; Partly sunny

Wednesday, Dec 16:  48, 35; Rain

Thursday, Dec 17:  41, 32; Periods of sun and clouds

Friday, Dec 18:  42, 28; Clouds and sun

The National Weather Service in Wakefield VA has issued the following hazardous weather alert for our area — Northumberland County included.

Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Wakefield VA
408 PM EST Sun Dec 6 2020

MDZ021>024-VAZ048-060>062-064-067>069-075>078-080-082>086-099-
509>522-072115-
Dorchester-Wicomico-Somerset-Inland Worcester-Fluvanna-Prince Edward-
Cumberland-Goochland-Caroline-Nottoway-Amelia-Powhatan-Westmoreland-
Richmond-Northumberland-Lancaster-Dinwiddie-Charles City-New Kent-
Gloucester-Middlesex-Mathews-Accomack-Western Louisa-Eastern Louisa-
Western Hanover-Eastern Hanover-Western Chesterfield-
Eastern Chesterfield (Including Col. Heights)-
Western Henrico (Including the City of Richmond)-Eastern Henrico-
Western King William-Eastern King William-Western King and Queen-
Eastern King and Queen-Western Essex-Eastern Essex-
408 PM EST Sun Dec 6 2020

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for southeast Maryland, central
Virginia, east central Virginia, eastern Virginia, north central
Virginia, south central Virginia and southeast Virginia.

.DAY ONE...Tonight.

Hazardous weather is not expected at this time.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday.

Snow showers are expected Monday. Snow amounts will range from a
light coating to around a half an inch through early Monday afternoon.
The timing of the snowfall around the morning commute may result in
hazardous driving conditions.

Hurricane Zeta is predicted to make landfall on the Louisiana-Mississippi Gulf Coast Wednesday afternoon and evening, Oct 28.  Zeta will then reduce to a tropical depression, bringing rain and wind to our neighborhood late Wednesday through Saturday.

Here is the latest track projection for Zeta from the National Hurricane Center.  The letter D indicates a Tropical Depression — rain with winds less than 39 MPH.

Here is the forecast for our area from the National Weather Service office in Wakefield VA.  (Scroll down the page, look for Northumberland County.)

.WEDNESDAY...Mostly cloudy early in the morning, then becoming
partly sunny. A slight chance of showers early in the morning.
Highs in the lower 70s. Southwest winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of
rain 20 percent.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT...Mostly cloudy. Rain likely after midnight.
Lows in the lower 60s. Southwest winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of
rain 70 percent.
.THURSDAY...Showers. Highs in the lower 70s. South winds 10 to
15 mph. Chance of rain 90 percent.
.THURSDAY NIGHT...Showers, breezy with lows in the lower 50s.
Southwest winds 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph. Chance of
rain 90 percent.
.FRIDAY...Mostly cloudy with showers likely in the morning, then
partly sunny with a chance of showers in the afternoon. Windy
with highs in the upper 50s. Chance of rain 70 percent.
.FRIDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy. A chance of showers in the
evening. Breezy with lows in the lower 40s. Chance of rain
30 percent.
.SATURDAY...Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 50s.

 

 

 

 

 

A few weeks ago we sent to everyone an email describing the results of a year-long trial of the mowing schedule for the large, 7-acre common area behind the homes along the southern (non-water) side of Potomac Drive.

This large field is not simply an empty field. In fact, most of the area is septic drain fields that serve 30 of our 52 lots. Waste water is piped from these lots into the drain fields in the large field. For this reason, the grass and brush on the area must be cut regularly to prevent large root intrusion into the septic drain fields.

The area of concern is on two plats of our neighborhood that are posted on the PBE POA website:

• Tax map 12A-1
• Tax map 12A-2

Previously the area was cut four times a year. In late fall of 2019, a group of homeowners asked that the cutting be reduced to allow and encourage use of the area by ground-dwelling and ground-nesting birds. In 2020, we cut the area before April 15 and after August 15, which is the nesting season for several species native to our neighborhood. The result was gratifying as a few nesting pairs with fledglings were observed that had not been seen for several years.

The area is being cut today, October 8, as the third and final cut for this year.

We now are in the process of certifying the 7-acre area as a Bird and Wildlife Sanctuary. To that effect, we have suspended mowing in that area from approximately April 15 to August 15 to enable the grass and wildflowers to flourish. We have already had sightings of Eastern Meadowlarks and are hopeful of attracting more bobwhites, indigo buntings, bluebirds, flickers, migratory songbirds, and other bird species along with many varieties of butterflies.

We ask that everyone tread carefully and limit human activity in this area and let us know what varieties you observe. It would be fun to keep a list of sightings and dates for our website.

Thanks to everyone for making our neighborhood a friendly place for everyone as well as for our feathered and furry neighbors.

PBE POA Annual Meeting

• Saturday, Sep 26
• 1:00 pm
• In the picnic area at the west end of Potomac Drive
• The Association will not provide food because of virus concerns.  You are welcome to bring your own.
• Please wear mask and maintain distance.
• THANK YOU

If you are not able to attend, please assign your proxy. To assign a proxy, please send an email to the PBE POA email account: potomacbaypoa@hotmail.com

Include:

• Your lot number
• Your name(s)
• The name of the person to whom you are assigning your proxy.

Most proxies are assigned to one of the Board of Directors officers:

• Dave Williams, Pres
• Frank Goyette, VP
• Martha Hulse, Treasurer
• Joe Schlatter, Secretary