Sunday to feel more like November; off-and-on rain expected too

It won’t feel like the unofficial start to summer this Memorial Day weekend

Feeling more like November Sunday afternoon

ROANOKE, Va. – Memorial Day is often called the “unofficial start to summer,” but the weather clearly didn’t get the memo this year.

Sunday will be spent beneath an area of low pressure. This will fling moisture our way, resulting in periods of rain.

FutureTracker - 8 a.m. Sunday

There will be some breaks in the action, hence why we’re calling it ‘off-and-on’ rain Sunday.

FutureTracker - 2 p.m. Sunday

Regardless, it will be unseasonably cool with highs in the 50s and 60s. That’s near-record chill for our Sunday afternoon.

Near-record cool afternoon expected Sunday

Memorial Day could wind up being in the top-10 coolest on record with highs only in the 60s.

Most of the rain we see Memorial Day happens in the morning before turning more hit-and-miss during the afternoon hours.

Hourly planner for Memorial Day 2023

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Our area of low pressure is slow to leave the area, meaning Tuesday will be about as cool as Memorial Day. It’s not until later in the week that we see the pattern flip, resulting in much warmer air.

Turning much warmer later in the week

Highs will begin to reach the 80s once again Thursday through at least Saturday, so we’ll get some grilling, hiking, swimming, etc. by then.

High temperature forecast through Saturday, 6/3/2023

Better late than never, right?


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.