Another day of downpours prior to hotter, drier weather this weekend

Downpours through Friday evening may result in localized flooding

What we're tracking - 8/21 to 8/23/2021

ROANOKE, Va – Flooding in downtown Roanoke Thursday evening resulted in multiple swift water rescues. This is a perfect example of what we mean by localized flash flooding. The Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport only received 0.23″ of rain from Thursday evening’s storms, but there are radar estimates of 2-3″ of rain in the downtown area.

A similar situation unfolds Friday in that downpours will remain scattered, but they will move slowly. That results in the threat for localized flash flooding.

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Flood threat for Friday, 8/20/2021

These downpours start mostly north of US-460 Friday morning.

FutureTracker - 11 a.m. Friday

Throughout the day and into the evening, these downpours wrap around a disturbance thousands of feet above us and move from north to south.

FutureTracker - 4 p.m. Friday

These storms, along with additional cloud cover, will keep high temperatures generally between 80 and 85° Friday afternoon.

High temperature forecast for Friday, August 20, 2021

Part of the moisture we’re dealing with is coming from Henri offshore. While this isn’t forecast to make landfall along the coasts of the Carolinas or Virginia, it is going to bring the increased threat for rip currents. Be very careful if you have weekend plans at the beach.

Henri impacts at home and along the East Coast

As for the weekend here at home, we’ll be on the west side of Henri. That means sinking air, which leads to lower rain chances and more heat.

Weekend forecast for 8/21 and 8/22/2021

As Henri moves north and east, high pressure takes its place. This forces the jet stream farther north through much of next week, resulting in highs in the 90s (upper 80s for some higher elevations).

Upper air pattern for next week

Your typical summer storms in the afternoon return next Wednesday and Thursday.


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.