Rain increases Wednesday; line of strong-to-severe storms possible Halloween

ROANOKE, Va. – Wednesday begins a period of unsettled weather for our area. We start the day overcast, with rain becoming more widespread as the afternoon goes on.

Most of this rain should be on the light-to-moderate side, but a few batches of heavier rain can't be ruled out later Wednesday evening into Thursday morning.

We'll see a break in the rain for a decent amount of the day Thursday, which allows things to warm up into the low to mid 70s. That's not exactly a good thing. 

A cold front to our west will help spark a quick but intense line of rain and wind. That line arrives in areas west of the Parkway between 4 and 8 p.m. and areas east of the Parkway between 8 p.m. and Midnight.

This forecast has already lead to some changes in city/town Halloween activities. For any of your own Trick-or-Treating, you'll want to stay weather aware Thursday afternoon and evening.

Unfortunately, this line (while quick) has the chance to produce damaging wind gusts along with localized flooding. 

Rain totals between Wednesday and Thursday night will largely be between 1 to 3 inches, with isolated higher totals in the southern Blue Ridge. 

Once the rain passes, the wind begins to howl like the werewolf. Spotty power outages will be possible into Friday morning, with wind gusts of 40-55 mph possible in Roanoke, the New River Valley and Highlands.

The wind eventually calms down late in the day Friday, with high school football games being good to go. It will be chilly, though, which sets the tone for the rest of the weekend. Highs will be in the 50s with morning lows in the 30s.