ROANOKE, Va. – Beyond Friday's cold front, things are going to turn windy and very chilly for us this Veterans Day weekend. It all starts with the combination of cold air and gusty wind (aka. the wind chill).
At times, it may feel like the teens in the Highlands, NRV and Mountain Empire. Meanwhile, it'll feel like the 20s at times in the Roanoke Valley and Lynchburg.
Make sure you're bundled up for the Veterans Day Parade in Roanoke. The sun may fool us, though. Even though we'll see a lot of sunshine, it's still going to feel more like Christmas (weather-wise) out there.
The wind calms down Saturday night. That, along with the clear sky and dry air, will allow temperatures to fall into the 20s by Sunday morning. If you have trouble waking up Sunday, just step outside. That ought to do the trick.
This puts us just a bit ahead of schedule, but is also the first time we'll have felt that kind of chill in about nine months!
Now is a good time to make sure that the garden hose is disconnected, that the pets have a warm place, and that your tires are good to go. We typically don't see pipe bursts, unless temperatures are in the teens. However, if you have piping that's exposed in an attic or crawl space, pipes may be susceptible to to freezing/bursting.
It'll still be chilly with rain returning Monday night and Tuesday, but then another blast of cold air drops by next Wednesday. When tracking the air moving in, we can track it all the way back up to the Arctic! Highs Wednesday afternoon will have a hard time climbing out of the 30s.
I guess what we're trying to say is this. Have a blanket nearby, some Chapstick and perhaps some hot cocoa too. You're going to need it.