Barometric Pressure Forecast for Bon Air, Virginia
Barometric pressure forecast for Bon Air, Virginia — on the Piedmont southwest of Richmond above the James River fall line, where cold air damming turns winter storms into ice. See current barometric pressure and what it means for weather-sensitive people.
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Pressure and weather in Bon Air
Bon Air sits in Chesterfield County just southwest of Richmond, on the rolling Piedmont uplands a few miles above the fall line where the James River drops off the hard rock of the interior onto the coastal plain. That geography puts the community in one of the more meteorologically awkward spots on the East Coast. Barometric pressure here is shaped by two competing influences. From the east and south come coastal storms and, in late summer, the remnants of tropical systems moving up from the Gulf or in off the Atlantic, both capable of deep and sustained pressure falls with heavy rain. From the north comes something subtler and locally more important: Appalachian cold air damming. When high pressure builds over New England and southeastern Canada, cold dense air is funnelled southward along the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge and wedges into central Virginia, holding surface temperatures near freezing while warmer air overruns aloft. The result is the freezing rain and sleet events the Richmond area is known for, and a barometer that behaves oddly — elevated by the wedge, then falling as the coastal low approaches from the south. Spring brings the year's most changeable stretch and occasional severe thunderstorms as the boundary between air masses oscillates across the Piedmont. Summer is hot and humid under the western edge of the Bermuda high with a nearly flat barometer and afternoon storms. Autumn is the calmest and clearest season. A barometric pressure forecast for Bon Air is most useful from December through April and again in hurricane season.
What this means for you
Can barometric pressure cause headaches? Central Virginia's damming events combine a rising barometer, falling temperature and increasing humidity all at once, which is an unusual and for many people a particularly uncomfortable combination. Watching the twelve-hour trend through these setups tends to be more informative than the reading alone. Use this barometric pressure forecast with Pressure Pal as a headache tracking app to see pressure change today and prepare before the next wedge sets up.