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Shaded-relief map of Long Branch, Virginia: rivers, roads, the city limits and where the water drains.
VIRGINIA · FAIRFAX COUNTY

Long Branch

7,890 people, 390 ft above sea level in Fairfax County.

390 ftElevation, city center
7,890People, 2024 estimate
2 sq miLand area
Sunny 48°
Sunny now Dew point 30° · WNW 22 mph · high 51°
City of Long Branch River Interstate 2 miles
Explore the plate Order a print

The Long Branch plate. Relief from Copernicus GLO-30; rivers and lakes from USGS NHD; watersheds from the USGS Watershed Boundary Dataset; roads and city limits from Census TIGER 2024.

MILE1
TODAY

Today in Long Branch

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 1:00 PM EST
RIGHT NOW DC (KIAD) · 1:52 PM
Sunny
48° Sunny Feels like 41° · high of 51° near 2 PM
WindWNW 22 mphgusts 33
Humidity50%falling to 41% this afternoon
Pressure29.92 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 30° · Dryabout the same for three days
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Clear
Not this weeknone in the forecast for a week
LIKELY AMOUNT—nothing expected
LAST RAINNov. 120.02 in · 2 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Fairfax County
NWS Baltimore MD/Washington and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 2:47 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 6:50 AM4:56 PM ↓
10 h 6 m of daylight, 2 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 25% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
24
GOODAir quality index · ozone
Tomorrow: 28, good. No pollen source yet.

The next three days, hour by hour

Sky: clear, cloudy, night Rain likely National Blend of Models
SATURDAY, NOV. 14
SUNDAY, NOV. 15
MONDAY, NOV. 16
TUESDAY, NOV. 17
2p
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
mostly cloudy day
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
mostly cloudy day
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
clear day
clear day
clear day
clear night
clear night
clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly sunny
clear day
TEMPERATURE °F
51°
39°
54°
36°
56°
33°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
17
14
12
12
12
10
12
13
13
10
8
7
7
7
9
10
8
7
6
5
5
4
5
6
HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 28 to 35°

The next seven days, and how sure we are

Forecast, with the range 8 in 10 ensemble members agree on Normal, about 57° / 36°
SAT Nov. 14 Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
51° 36°
0% rain — WNW 17, gusts 33 A
SUN Nov. 15 Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
54° 33°
0% rain — NW 12 A
MON Nov. 16 Sunny Sunny
57° 31°
0% rain — NNW 9 B
TUE Nov. 17 Sunny Sunny
59° 30°
0% rain — WNW 5 B
WED Nov. 18 Sunny Sunny
63° 32°
0% rain — S 5 B
THU Nov. 19 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
66° 36°
0% rain — S 2 B
FRI Nov. 20 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
67° 39°
0% rain — NNW 1 B
How sure are we? AModels agree: highs within 4° BSome spread: within 8° CWide spread: check back
Range from the National Blend of Models percentiles · graded on Forecast Scores
AIR MAIL

Where today’s air came from

The air arriving over Long Branch about 5,000 feet above the ground was over British Columbia three days ago, and over the Great Lakes a day ago, about 2,940 miles back along its path. It came down from about 11,800 feet up, warming and drying as it sank. Near the ground the air came from the Canadian Prairies; at 10,000 feet, from the open Pacific. It feels dry all the same. Traced back 72 hours through NOAA’s hourly RAP analyses and the GFS beyond them, nine paths at each of three heights.

THIS WEEK IN 2014 Nov. 12, 2014

The hottest this week has been

76° on Nov. 12, 2014, the hottest reading for this week of the year since 1925. Next is 75° in 2020.

75°
76°
20202014
Source: NOAA RCC-ACIS, the Vienna record since 1925.
MILE2
THE GROUND

What Long Branch stands on

Long Branch’s center stands about 390 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 210 ft to 460 ft, a difference of 250 ft: rolling country.

The section below crosses 15 rock units mapped at the surface.

McNair to Mount Vernon, cut in half

A section northwest to southeast, 24 miles through the town center
0 ft200 ft400 ft LONG BRANCH390 ftHigh point of the line510 ftFairfax390 ftSpringfield220 ftLow point10 ft ← NW · McNairMount Vernon · SE →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 38×. The colored band under the surface is the rock the state geologic map shows at the surface, not a picture of what lies beneath.

Rock at the surface along the line

Mather Gorge Formation - Schist

Schist. Age: Neoproterozoic to Cambrian, 487 to 1,000 million years old. About 4 mi of the line.

Potomac Formation

Sand. Age: Cretaceous, 66 to 145 million years old. About 3 mi of the line.

Occoquan Granite

Granite. Age: Cambrian to Ordovician, 445 to 542 million years old. About 2 mi of the line.

Newark Supergroup; Sandstone, undifferentiated

Sandstone. Age: Triassic, 202 to 252 million years old. About 2 mi of the line.

Shirley Formation

Fine-detrital, coarse-detrital. Age: Quaternary, less than 2.6 million years old. About 2 mi of the line.

Pliocene Sand and Gravel

Gravel, sand. Age: Pliocene, 2.6 to 5.3 million years old. About 2 mi of the line.

From the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation (Horton and others, 2017), the states’ geologic maps joined at a common scale. 9 smaller units along the line are not listed.

Heights from Copernicus GLO-90 (a surface model: it includes buildings and tree canopy); summits from USGS GNIS; rivers from USGS NHDPlus HR; rock from the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation.

MILE3
THE WATER

Where Long Branch’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in Long Branch reaches Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean by way of Accotink Creek and the Potomac: about 110 river miles.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Long Branch≈ 110 mi · Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean
FROM THE CENTER OF LONG BRANCH ≈ 110 mi to Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean Accotink Creek → Potomac

95 miles of the trip are on the Potomac.

Traced down the USGS NHDPlus V2.1 river network from the Census center point of Long Branch; river miles along the main stem, rounded.

MILE5
THE ALMANAC

Long Branch’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1925 · Vienna, 4 mi north-northwest

Long Branch has a humid subtropical climate. Summer afternoons average 84° in July; winter nights fall to about 23° in January. A normal year brings about 18 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 44 inches of water.

42°23°45°24°53°32°65°41°72°52°80°61°84°67°82°65°76°57°65°45°56°35°46°28° JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 12 TODAY LONG BRANCH 43.6 in rain and snowmelt
Normal high to low, by month Rain by month Freezing
July, average84° / 67°high / low, the warmest month
January, average42° / 23°high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow43.6 inwettest months: May and July
Snow a year18.5 insnowiest: February
Hottest on record100°FAugust 18, 2015
Coldest on record−3°FFebruary 5, 1996
Wettest day on record7.10 inSeptember 14, 1966
Snowiest day on record23.0 inFebruary 11, 1983
90° days a year13none reach 100°
Nights at or below 32°100and 13 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeHumid subtropicalKöppen Cfa

AROUND THE RING

1Freeze seasonfrom the first fall freeze, about Nov. 2, to the last in spring, about April 11 (median dates)
2Lows below freezingNov. 23 to March 19; normal lows fall below 32°
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Long Branch normally reaches 56° and falls to 35°. The record high is 65°, in 2005; the record low 22°, in 2019. The most rain on this date, 1.53 in, fell in 1972.

MONTH BY MONTH
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal high42°45°53°65°72°80°84°82°76°65°56°46°
Normal low23°24°32°41°52°61°67°65°57°45°35°28°
Rain and melt, in3.282.623.843.394.284.134.263.544.163.513.133.43
Snow, inches6.57.52.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.12.4

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1925 at Vienna, 4 miles north-northwest. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Long Branch on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Arlington VA · 10 MI 10 miles east Washington DC · 15 MI 15 miles east Baltimore MD · 48 MI 48 miles northeast Philadelphia PA · 140 MI 140 miles northeast Virginia Beach VA · 157 MI 157 miles southeast Pittsburgh PA · 182 MI 182 miles northwest
FORECASTCITY
Map of Long Branch, Virginia. Explore the plate
VIRGINIA · FAIRFAX

Long Branch

7,890 people, 390 ft above sea level in Fairfax County.

390 ftElevation
7,890People
2 sq miLand
Sunny 48°
SunnyDew point 30°
1

Today in Long Branch

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now overcast 51° 1%
5p mostly cloudy night 50° 2%
8p partly cloudy night 45° 1%
11p partly cloudy night 41° 1%
2a mostly clear night 40° 1%
5a partly cloudy night 39° 1%
Clear
NEXT RAINNone this week
→
Sat0%
Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
36
51
A
Sun0%
Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
33
54
A
Mon0%
Sunny Sunny
31
57
B
Tue0%
Sunny Sunny
30
59
B
Wed0%
Sunny Sunny
32
63
B
Thu0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
36
66
B
Fri0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
39
67
B
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
THIS WEEK IN 2014 · NOV. 12, 2014

76°, the hottest this week of the year has been since 1925.

2

What Long Branch stands on

Long Branch’s center stands about 390 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 210 ft to 460 ft, a difference of 250 ft: rolling country.

Long Branch, northwest to southeast Long Branch390 ft ← NWSE → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 73×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center390 ft
Within 3 miles210 to 460 ft
Lie of the landRolling (250 ft of relief)
5

Long Branch’s year

Long Branch has a humid subtropical climate. Summer afternoons average 84° in July; winter nights fall to about 23° in January. A normal year brings about 18 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 44 inches of water.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 12 43.6 in
July, average84° / 67° · high / low, the warmest month
January, average42° / 23° · high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow43.6 in · wettest months: May and July
Snow a year18.5 in · snowiest: February
Hottest on record100°F · August 18, 2015
Coldest on record−3°F · February 5, 1996
Wettest day on record7.10 in · September 14, 1966
Snowiest day on record23.0 in · February 11, 1983
90° days a year13 · none reach 100°
Nights at or below 32°100 · and 13 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeHumid subtropical · Köppen Cfa
1Freeze season · from the first fall freeze, about Nov. 2, to the last in spring, about April 11 (median dates)
2Lows below freezing · Nov. 23 to March 19; normal lows fall below 32°
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Long Branch normally reaches 56° and falls to 35°. The record high is 65°, in 2005; the record low 22°, in 2019. The most rain on this date, 1.53 in, fell in 1972.

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1925 at Vienna, 4 miles north-northwest. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 110 mito the AtlanticAccotink Creek → Potomac

A raindrop that lands in Long Branch reaches Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean by way of Accotink Creek and the Potomac: about 110 river miles.

95 miles of the trip are on the Potomac.