Heating up: Thursday’s temperatures soar to near-record levels in the afternoon

Temperatures peak between 85 and 90° outside of the mountains Thursday

ROANOKE, Va. – It’s that time of year when wild swings in temperatures become more common, and you’ll see just that in the forecast for the next several days.

We start with Thursday. High pressure overhead and a breeze down the mountains is the recipe for near-record heat.

Nearing record heat Thursday afternoon

There isn’t a ton of difference between the pattern Thursday and the pattern Friday, resulting in similar afternoon warmth/heat.

High temperature forecast for Friday, 4/21/2023

Come Saturday, however, a storm system comes through to break up our hot stretch. A line of rain moves in from the west after 8 in the morning.

FutureTracker - 9 a.m. Saturday

By 3 p.m., most of the rain is out of here. The breeze picks up, and the sky clears out.

FutureTracker - 3 p.m. Saturday

If this time frame holds true, there will be some pros and cons.

The pro would be the minimal severe weather threat and the fact that weekend plans may not be completely squashed.

Severe weather outlook for Saturday, 4/22/2023

The con would be the fact that rain will likely get in the way racers at the Blue Ridge Marathon.

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Beyond the rain, we turn gusty and cooler late Saturday into much of next week. Patchy frost may develop Monday and Tuesday morning.

Three main changes from our next weather maker

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.