ROANOKE, Va. – While the week’s weather started calmly here, it got off to a rocky start in the Southern Plains.
NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center shows there were two dozen (not all confirmed) reports of tornadoes, among many other reports of hail and wind Monday. Most of these were in the eastern half of Texas.
That same storm produces a high-end threat of severe weather in the Deep South Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the weather stays calm here with increasing clouds Tuesday. Despite that, temperatures will still make a run at the 60s and 70s.
It’s not until Wednesday morning around commute time that we start to see the rain from this storm.
There’s plenty of wind surrounding this system, which is just one ingredient for severe weather. The other ingredient is instability (thunderstorm fuel), which allows the air to rise to its fullest potential. In this case, there’s not much instability to work with. Therefore, our severe weather threat is limited but not entirely zero Wednesday afternoon.
Regardless, we’ll see periods of rain continue with some heavy pockets near and east of the Blue Ridge Parkway through the evening.
A few showers may linger into Thursday. Other than that, we’ll hold onto clouds for part of the day with highs reaching the 60s and 70s.
It’s not until Friday through Sunday that we see temperatures gradually trickle downward.
Highs this coming weekend will only be in the 40s and 50s with a gusty wind at times and the chance for west-slope snow showers. There’s the chance for near-freezing temperatures Sunday and Monday mornings as well.
It’s best to hold off on planting, as cold snaps often continue into the month of April.