Spring warmth followed by chance of storms at night

The threat for severe weather is higher west, but isn’t zero in our area Thursday night

Severe threat higher to the west, but not zero in our area Thursday night

ROANOKE, Va. – We’ve started out the week with our warmest stretch of weather since mid-October. Eventually, that catches up with us this time of year. A potent storm system will likely produce severe weather in parts of Tennessee and Kentucky Thursday afternoon and will continue to move east by night.

Not all storms weaken at night. At the same time, we don’t expect these storms to be quite as strong as they’ll be out west. After 10 p.m., pockets of heavy rain, strong wind gusts and perhaps some hail (in spots) will move through the region.

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Localized wind damage will be possible, along with localized hail

Have a way to get weather warnings at night, just in case a few are issued by the National Weather Service in Blacksburg.

Current forecast data places most of the rain in our area after 10 p.m., when most of us are heading to bed for the night.

Rain and isolated storms begin to move into the area

Overnight, this cluster of rain and storms continues to move from west to east. The threat for heavy rain, high wind gusts and isolated hail continues during this time.

Rain and possibly some storms continue to move through the region

By the time you get the kids on the bus Friday morning, most of the area looks dry. We’ll actually be breezy at times and quite warm Friday, with highs in the upper 60s and low to mid 70s.

A cold front moving through takes us from unseasonably warm Friday to seasonable Saturday to unseasonably cool Sunday.

A strong cold front takes us from unseasonably warm Friday to unseasonably cool Sunday

High pressure north of that front will wedge in the cooler air, while low pressure to the south supplies the moisture. This means rounds of rain late Saturday into Sunday, with marginally cold temperatures possibly creating a mix of rain and snow in the Highlands.

Cooler air and clouds get wedged in the region with rain likely early Sunday

Stay tuned, as that part of the forecast may change for our area, depending on the amount of cold air available.


About the Author:

Meteorologist Chris Michaels is an American Meteorological Society (AMS) Certified Broadcaster, forecasting weather conditions in southwest Virginia on WSLS 10 News from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. weekdays on Virginia Today.