ROANOKE, Va. – It certainly feels like Christmas (it won’t next week), with Thursday morning temperatures in the teens and 20s area-wide. Highs will get into the low to mid 40s for most of us under a sunny sky.
Speaking of Christmas, Illuminights has Santa visiting once again. You can also go decorate cookies Thursday evening! The weather will cooperate and provide a festive feel, with temperatures in the 30s and a calm wind.
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We’ll warm up a bit Friday before getting cooler Saturday. Saturday’s highs will only be in the 40s, thanks to increased cloud cover.
At 11:19 p.m. Saturday, winter will officially begin (even though it’s felt like it for a while). This is when the sun’s rays are directly above the Tropic of Capricorn (23.5°S) in the Southern Hemisphere.
For us, this is the day we see the least amount of sunlight. The good news to take away is that there’s nowhere to go but up from there!
Meanwhile, we’ll be tracking a system riding the Gulf Coast this weekend. This may mean some travel trouble for you, if you have plans to head to Alabama, Georgia or Florida. Most of the rain stays south of us through the weekend, but we can’t rule out some showers south of 460 Sunday night into Monday morning.
Once this system passes east, it’s smooth sailing for the eastern half of the U.S. In fact, temperatures climb above average. The NRV and Highlands top out in the 50s Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Roanoke, Lynchburg and Southside top out in the upper 50s and lower 60s.