Spring warmth, rain lead up to a strong late week cold front

Most rain during the day Thursday will be north of US 460 before turning widespread overnight

ROANOKE, Va. – Wednesday was Roanoke’s warmest February day in five years, and we mostly follow suit (though with less sunshine) Thursday.

High temperatures reach spring-like levels again by topping out in the 60s and 70s.

High temperature forecast for Thursday, 2/16/2023

We’ll be breezy at times as well.

A warm front to our north will be the catalyst for rain showers to develop late morning into the afternoon. These areas of rain will focus their attention north of US 460.

FutureTracker - around Noon Thursday

The evening is mostly quiet, but a band of rain pushes in from the west overnight into early Friday morning.

Widespread rain expected early Friday morning, 2/17/2023

Once that rain passes toward the east, the wind will be whipping. Gusts up to 40 mph are likely in parts of the New River Valley, Roanoke Valley and Highlands Friday.

Wind speed and wind gust forecast for Friday, 2/17/2023

This will also bring in cooler air. So while early morning temperatures begin in the 50s and 60s, the afternoon will be colder.

Hourly planner for Friday, 2/17/2023

The wind doesn’t completely let up by Saturday morning, meaning wind chills will mostly be in the single digits and teens when most of us wake up.

Projected wind chills by Saturday, 2/18/2023

Sunshine comes to the rescue, putting our high temperatures in the low to mid 50s Saturday. We’ll warm up a little more Sunday.

Weekend high temperature forecast for 2/18 and 2/19/2023

For updates on the forecast ahead of the weekend, make sure to download our free 10 News and weather apps.


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