Wednesday’s warmth falls short of a record by a few degrees

Temperatures Wednesday afternoon top out between 75 and 80°

Close to record high temperatures Wednesday afternoon, 10/21/2020

ROANOKE, Va. – Temperatures all across the board Tuesday managed to get into the mid to upper 70s, making it feel like mid-September. That will once again be the case Wednesday afternoon.

We start the day cool and comfortable with temperatures in the 50s. A few high level cirrus clouds and perhaps some river/lake fog will be around. A light breeze out of the south will boost our temperatures back up to about 75-80° by the afternoon.

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Hourly planner for Wednesday, 10/21/2020

For most of the area, that’s about 5° shy of record levels for the day. We’ll stay unseasonably warm through Friday and Saturday, while the northern tier of the U.S. gets a few rounds of snow thrown their way.

Autumn snow across the Northern Plains this week

The same front that produces that snow will slowly inch closer to our area this weekend, giving us the chance for showers Saturday afternoon and evening. The best chance looks like it will be along and west of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

FutureTracker - Saturday afternoon in the Mid-Atlantic states

This front meanders nearby, while high pressure anchors itself over New England. This will set up a weak wedge, in which clouds settle into the region. A few showers and pockets of drizzle will be around too as high temperatures take a dip.

What the wedge means for our weather Sunday, 10/25/2020

As that erodes, warmer air will likely return early next week. Our next front likely gets delayed a bit, slowing any inevitable cool-down until Halloween or just shortly thereafter.

10's next 10 days starting on 10/21/2020

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.