Short term forecast
ROANOKE, Va. – Tonight, we will see the lingering showers and/or storms ending with more fog forming later on. Skies may clear out again later tonight and that could set the stage for a little more sun in the forecast for Friday. However, clouds will thicken during the afternoon with pop-up t-showers developing after 2p or 3p. The best chance to see this isolated activity will be along and south of Highway 460. It will be a warm Friday with highs in the lower 80s. A better opportunity for more widespread rain will move in Friday night and linger into part of the weekend.
Weekend turns wetter: Periods of rain and storms expected
Saturday’s outlook calls for periods of rain and a few thunderstorms, so the beginning part of the weekend looks wetter than the end. Please make sure to keep your rain jacket or umbrella close at hand if you’re heading out Saturday or even Saturday night. Sunday’s forecast calls for a lower risk of rain compared to Saturday, although spotty showers will still be possible. We will see a little more sun on Sunday as well.
Temperatures this weekend will be cooler, only topping out in the low-to-mid 70s on Saturday, rising into the middle 70s on Sunday.
Keeping an eye on the tropics: Next week could get interesting
We are also tracking several tropical features in the Atlantic. Gabrielle and Umberto are spinning out there—Gabrielle may brush closer to Portugal, while Umberto is expected to reach major hurricane strength by the weekend. The main area of concern for our region, though, is a cluster of showers and storms near the Bahamas. The National Hurricane Center gives this system a high likelihood—around 80 to 90 percent—of developing into a tropical depression or possibly a named storm (Imelda) as early as Friday or Saturday. Computer models suggest the system could move up through the Bahamas and approach the South or North Carolina coastline late in the weekend or early next week. While the exact path and intensity are still unclear, we will want to keep a close on this one. Tropical rain could very well impact our area by Monday or Tuesday of next week, bring a couple more inches of rain to the area. We will continue monitoring this system, and updates will be shared on air and at WSLS.com/weather.
Stay weather aware
As always, keep up with the latest radar and updates from your Weather Authority team on WSLS.com. And if you snap a photo of the rain or fog rolling through your neighborhood, be sure to share it with us at WSLS.com/pinit/.