Increased potential for strong-to-severe storms Thursday afternoon, evening

ROANOKE, Va. – Scattered rain showers, patchy drizzle and fog will be around to start the day Thursday.

This will be ahead of the main event that is set to arrive in the afternoon. Even before the main line of storms, any individual storms that pop between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. could become strong or start to rotate.

A strong cold front will spark a line of intense showers and thunderstorms containing damaging winds and torrential downpours. The threat for an isolated tornado cannot be ruled out. 

This line of storms will arrive in areas west of the Parkway between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. and areas east of the parkway from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

The system will be quick, but it will likely produce damaging winds. Torrential downpours will likely result in flooding.

An additional 1-2 inches will be possible late Wednesday through Thursday evening, with isolated higher totals in the southern Blue Ridge.

If you have any Halloween decorations out, be sure they are secure or take them down. 

Wind gusts could exceed 50 mph in some locations as the cold front passes through the region.

With the ground already saturated, this could lead to downed trees and ultimately some power outages. 

That's why both a High Wind Watch and Wind Advisory are out from 6 p.m. Thursday until Noon Friday. 

The rain will taper off near midnight, and temperatures will tumble heading into Friday morning.

A strong and gusty west/northwest wind will usher in significantly cooler air for the end of the workweek.