ROANOKE, Va. – Although most of the region has a mild morning in store, everything will change into the evening and overnight hours tonight. A sudden chill takes over as a cold front passes through that will very much live up to its name.
Temperatures as of 8:06 AM still stand in the 30s and 40s, which isn’t too bad for January standerds. We have a slight breeze moving through the area this morning with winds gusting out of the est from 10-15 MPH. As this front moves through, winds will increase tomorrow and Friday.
This increase in wind gust activity will bring feels like temperatures tumbling into the single digits to as low as 9 degrees below zero. If you are headed out the door around 5-6AM Thursday morning, you will experience some of the coldest wind chills of the day, be sure to bundle up!
Later on in the afternoon, around the time we are hitting our high temperatures, it will still easily feel like we are in the teens and single digits.
This cold air is all a result of a very strong cold front that will also bring rain and a few snow flurries to portions of our viewing area. This rain will begin in the afternoon for the Southside and Lynchburg Zones. The daytime hours will be dry for the rest of the viewing area with the occasional quick shower.
The main event begins tonight around 7-8 PM. This will start off as rainfall and change to a wintry mix and eventually snowfall for the Highland and New River Valley Zones. The remaining zones will not see any snowfall from this system.
Amounts of accumulating snowfall will vary, with thei wester slopes of the WV Mountains accumulating 1-3″ and the rest of the Highland Zone and New River Valley seeing around a dusting to just below an inch. This will not be a high impact event but could lead to some slick spots during the Thursday morning commute, so be sure to plan in a little extra time for that morning drive.
After this next weather maker we will remain dry for the second half of the day on Thursday with seasonable air settling in.