RELIEF! Turning slightly less humid before Saharan dust inches closer

Humidity levels will be more manageable than recent days, meaning limited rain chances through Saturday.

FutureTracker - Wednesday afternoon

ROANOKE, Va. – With how wet things have been the last two months, we’ll take any drop in humidity we can get. For most of the area, Wednesday will feel quite pleasant as dew points hover in the mid to upper 50s.

Hour by hour humidity for Wednesday

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Southside will likely be the exception, as our front meanders nearby. This will also be a focal point for a few storms Thursday afternoon. The better chance, at the moment, appears to be in areas along and south of US 460 during the afternoon and evening. That timing may change.

Severe weather outlook for Thursday, 06/25/2020

Temperatures the rest of the week will be in the 80s, with mostly tolerable humidity levels. High pressure near Florida will direct the wind out of the west and down the mountains. This means a hotter weekend at times.

Upper air pattern this weekend

This same high pressure, with clockwise wind around it, will direct a plume of Saharan dust into the region by late Saturday and Sunday.

Tracking a layer of Saharan dust for the weekend

The expectation is a wall of dust, like you’d see in the Desert Southwest. However, that’s simply not going to be the case. This will cast more haze over us this weekend.

Expectation vs. Reality - dust edition

For those of us with lung and heart issues, including asthma, this may cause some issues. Air quality will likely go down, due to the haziness.

Air quality forecast for the weekend

The chance for storms is fairly scattered by Sunday. If it were to storm near you, a portion of dust could actually be brought down to the surface within the raindrops.


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.