October 17 Drought Briefing from National Weather Service, Wakefield, VA

The National Weather Service office in Wakefield, VA, released a comprehensive report and forecast for the drought conditions now affecting Virginia.

You can see the full report here:  drought briefing

Note the tropical depression now forming in the Gulf of Mexico that may bring rain to our area Sunday.

REMINDER:  A TOTAL BAN ON OUTDOOR FIRES IS IN EFFECT IN NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.  This burn ban was established by the County Board of Supervisors in response to the drought conditions we are experiencing.

NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY BURN BAN IN EFFECT, 24/7, until further notice

Effective 4:30 PM, Friday, Oct 4, Northumberland County has announced a total ban on outdoor fires until further notice.  This ban is in effect 24 hours a day.

Northumberland County is in the area of Virginia designated as severe drought.  Lawns, woods and other vegetation are extremely dry and will burn rapidly.

To repeat:

Effective 4:30 PM, Friday, Oct 4, Northumberland County has announced a total ban on outdoor fires until further notice.  This ban is in effect 24 hours a day.

We will notify everyone when the ban is lifted.

Boat launch ramp access

On Wednesday, Oct 2, we placed a chain across the boat launch ramp into Presley Creek, located in the common area picnic area at the west end of Potomac Drive.  The chain blocks access to the ramp and is secured with a combination lock.

Potomac Bay Estates property owners are the only people authorized to use our boat launch ramp.  If you need the combination, please send an email message to us at potomacbaypoa@hotmail.com

Anytime you unlock the lock and take down the chain, please put the chain back in place and lock the lock.

Please do not share the combination with anyone else.

We took this action because of recent trespass on the boat ramp by non-property owners.

Check out the new pages on our website

Broadband Service.  Our neighborhood is one of the few locations in Northumberland County with broadband service to every lot.  Much of the county does not have access to wired broadband.

Information of interest to realtors and prospective buyers.  From time to time we are contacted by realtors or prospective buyers with questions about the neighborhood and the property owners’ association.  These two pages answer those questions, or, have links to pages where the answers can be found.

Neighborhood security alerts and final weather update; Friday, Sep 6, 7:45 PM

SECURITY ALERT

Northumberland County has been undergoing property reassessment for almost one year. The county hired a team of real estate appraisers who are visiting every property in the county and making assessments of property value. Most of them are driving vehicles with the county seal on both front doors.

HOWEVER: Northumberland County has received reports of an individual claiming to be with the reassessment team that the County has contracted to complete its latest reassessment. If this individual states that they are there to get additional measurements and cannot produce a Northumberland reassessment ID, call the Northumberland County Sheriff’s Office immediately at 804-580-5221 or by dialing 911.

An assessor visited our neighborhood earlier this summer. The one who looked at our house produced a county ID, introduced himself and was driving a county car.

The Northumberland County website posts alerts such as this one as well as other information of interest to county residents and property owners.

ANOTHER SECURITY ALERT

Our neighbors in the Sands on the Potomac neighborhood immediately downriver (East) of us report that recently there have been two instances of vehicle license plates being stolen from trailers parked at unoccupied homes. The sheriff’s office investigators surmise someone has stolen trailers and needs license plates for them.

We have had no such incidents reported in our neighborhood. Please check your property and let us know if anything looks amiss — and call the Sheriff — 804-580-5221 or 911

FINAL WEATHER UPDATE

Our neighborhood experienced only a mild storm from the remnants of Hurricane Dorian. As of 7:45 PM, Friday, Sep 6, the grey clouds that have been here since Thursday morning are clearing; a misty drizzle is still hanging on. We received less than 1/2 inch of rain; winds were steady at 14-15 MPH with gusts as high as 25 MPH. No power outages, no damage reported.

Storm update – Sep 6

As of 7:45 AM, Friday, Sep 6, our neighborhood is experiencing wind and rain associated with Hurricane/Tropical Storm Dorian — wind and rain are expected to continue until Friday night.  Northumberland County schools are closed.

Our current conditions:

  • Wind from northeast (blowing off the Bay) at 12-14 MPH with gusts to 21-25 MPH.
  • Rain showers with accumulation since midnight of 0.05 inches
  • We are under tropical storm warning until 1:15 PM, Friday
  • The National Weather Service has issued a flood warning for low-lying areas of our county until early Sunday morning, Sep 8

While it does not appear we will experience severe wind or rain, we likely will experience downed tree limbs, possible power outages, and some minor flooding in low-lying areas.

Here is a link to our neighborhood weather station.

Here is a link to Virginia weather radar.

 

Storm update — Sep 5

As of 4:00 PM, EDST, Thursday, Sep 5, here is the latest on Hurricane Dorian’s impact on our neighborhood.

Wind and cloud cover arrived in our neighborhood before dawn Thursday.  Winds have been steady at 3-7 MPH with gusts to 12 MPH, out of the ENE (wind blowing from the Bay).

The latest information from the National Hurricane Center indicates we will have wind and rain from Thursday night into Friday night with Friday being the worst conditions.

The latest National Weather Service forecast for our neighborhood calls for increasing wind and rain Thursday night-Friday morning.  For Friday, we can expect 2-4 inches of rain; winds steady at 10-15 MPH with gusts to 20-plus MPH.

However, the National Hurricane Center maps show our area as being under tropical storm warning with winds possibly reaching 30 MPH or higher.

Northumberland County schools will be closed Friday, Sep 6.

Here are the relevant NHC maps.

[Image of probabilities of 34-kt winds]

cone graphic

time of arrival graphic

[Image of WPC QPF U.S. rainfall potential]