Stay cool! Near-record heat expected Tuesday afternoon

High temperatures rise well into the 90s for most of the area Tuesday

Records in jeopardy Tuesday, August 24, 2021

ROANOKE, Va. – Sunshine and high heat continue into our Tuesday, leading to near-record highs in parts of the area. Most of us reach into the low to mid 90s after about 1 p.m. As we’ve said multiple times this summer, make sure you’re listening to your body. Drink water, take breaks, seek shade, etc.

As kids head back to school, make sure they’re avoiding those hotter surfaces like slides on the playground. Those can turn extremely hot in direct sunlight.

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Playground surfaces can turn extremely hot in direct sunlight

As high pressure continues to build across the Southeast this week, we’ll see the heat continuing with minimal storm chances. There’s no hope of a “cold” front coming through for the time being either.

What we're tracking through at least midweek

Therefore, we expect highs in the higher elevations to be in the 80s and the rest of the area to top out in the 90s throughout the rest of the week.

Forecast highs through 8/30/2021

Despite a plume of dust moving off the Sahara Desert, there are three different tropical waves to track over the next few days. The National Hurricane Center has placed anywhere from a 40-60% chance of these developing.

Tropical tracker as of 3 a.m., August 24, 2021

The next names on the list are Ida, Julian and Kate. Having said that, there’s no immediate threat to southwest or central Virginia. We’ll keep you posted by sending alerts to Your Local Weather Authority app.


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.