Stretch of 90° heat continues for most Wednesday; storm chances to return

A near-record stretch of heat for one part of our area continues Wednesday afternoon

What We're Tracking through the middle part of the week

ROANOKE, Va. – For areas like Roanoke and Lynchburg, 90° heat has been the main focus for the last two weeks. While that’s not uncommon this time of year, a consistent stretch of that kind of heat for this long is pretty significant.

Roanoke’s two-week stretch of 90° heat is the sixth-longest on record. Lynchburg has hit that mark 13 of the last 14 days, missing it by only one degree on the 8th.

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Stretch of 90° heat in the Roanoke Valley

This hot streak continues Wednesday, as high temperatures rise into the low to mid 90s under a mix of clouds and sunshine. (We’ll be in the 80s in the New River Valley.)

With an added dose of humidity, we cannot rule out a few pop-up storms. The best chance, while isolated, will be in areas near and west of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

FutureTracker - Wednesday afternoon

Some clouds may linger into the night, but they hopefully won’t get in the way of the NEOWISE comet.

Heading into Thursday morning, clouds will increase thanks to a wind out of the southeast rising up the mountains. As a warm front lifts north, a few storms may develop early Thursday morning in parts of Southside.

FutureTracker - Thursday morning

Spotty storms will then be possible in the heat of the day Thursday, as highs reach about 86-92° area-wide.

This front will then stall north of us and be a focal point for more numerous showers and storms Friday and Saturday afternoons.

What We're Tracking - Friday afternoon

At this point, the streak of 90° may be in jeopardy. It all depends on cloud cover and exactly when storms begin firing up. Have a Plan B for any weekend plans, as storms will be scattered about the region.

This front dissipates later in the weekend, but we’ll still maintain the daily chance for spotty showers and thunderstorms Sunday through early next week.

5-day high temperature trend

At this point, afternoon temperatures should be able to recover by a few degrees.


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.