Focus on Central Virginia - 7/8/25

A little of everything - heat, humidity, and severe thunderstorms for the Richmond area and further north today

Will Weaver
July 08, 2025

Weather Headlines for Central Virginia:

Heat advisory in effect — Sunny, hot, and humid for most of the day with highs in the upper 90s and heat index values as high as 107°
Slight risk of severe weather — Thunderstorms will develop and move through the region between 4pm and 10pm tonight. There is a slight risk (level 2) of severe weather, and thunderstorms could produce damaging wind gusts
Slight risk of excessive rainfall — Any thunderstorms that develop will produce very heavy rainfall, with up to 3” possible in some spots; this could cause flash flooding

In Depth:

NWS extreme heat risk map for Wakefield’s county warning area (CWA), showing an elevated extreme heat risk across the Richmond area with pockets of significant risk to the east

Chantal is gone, now a weakening trough over the Atlantic, but it left behind an extremely humid and tropical air mass, as evidenced by dew points in the mid to upper 70s across much of the region. This soupy air will contribute to an oppressively hot and humid day today once again. High temperatures will reach the mid to upper 90s, and the high humidity will make it feel much hotter with heat index values as high as 107°. Because of this, a heat advisory is in effect through 8:00 PM EDT tonight. Try to limit strenuous outdoor activity and remain in an air-conditioned environment if possible, and stay hydrated.

SPC severe thunderstorm risk map for today - the Richmond metro area and areas to the north and northeast are under a slight risk while most of the rest of central and eastern Virginia is under a marginal risk

Hot and humid weather always brings with it the chance of afternoon summer thunderstorms, and today will be no different. The Storm Prediction Center has issued a Slight Risk (level 2) of severe weather for the Richmond area and points to the north and northeast, with most of the rest of the region being under a Marginal Risk (level 1). Thunderstorms will flare up this afternoon and move through between 4pm and 10pm tonight. Richmond in particular looks to get these storms between 6pm and 8pm. Any storms that form could become severe and produce damaging wind gusts as high as 60 mph.

WPC excessive rainfall risk map for the Wakefield CWA, showing an elevated risk of excessive rainfall from Petersburg northward and a limited risk elsewhere

Because of all the moisture Chantal left behind after it moved through, any thunderstorms that develop will likely produce a lot of rain, and I mean a lot of rain. The Weather Prediction Center has most of the Richmond area under a Slight Risk (level 2) of “excessive rainfall” today - excessive rainfall is any rain that falls at a rate exceeding the NWS’s flash flooding guidance. Although the storms will likely move fairly quickly, they will produce rain at very high rainfall rates (possibly higher than 2 inches per hour) — some parts of the area could see as much as 3 inches of rain this afternoon and evening, and this high rate of rainfall could cause flash flooding issues along rivers and creeks. Probably not a great day to be on the river.
Wednesday will likely be more of the same, except there will be more cloud cover and so temperatures will not be quite as high - most areas will be in the upper 80s to low 90s. High humidity will once again cause heat index values to skyrocket to around 100°, and there will again be a decent chance of heavy thunderstorms in the evening.