ROANOKE, Va. – A pesky area of low pressure will continue to be a thorn in our side through Wednesday (and beyond, really). It’s located in North Carolina Wednesday morning, leading to pockets of heavy rain that will move from east to west. Localized flooding will be possible, and hydroplaning will be a concern as well.
As we head into the afternoon, showers gradually turn scattered. However, they may still be heavy at times. With a layer of warm air above us, we cannot completely rule out a few loud claps of thunder area-wide. Any chance of severe weather will be east of us this afternoon and evening.
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We’ll be on the cooler and generally more stable side of the storm system. In fact, temperatures will only top out in the 60s Wednesday afternoon. For some of us, mainly in Lynchburg and Roanoke, this is near-record cool air that we’re dealing with for the third straight day.
As we head throughout the day Wednesday and into Thursday, our area of low pressure becomes broader and weaker. What this means is that showers and thunderstorms will be more scattered than they’ve been recently. Cold air surrounding the low thousands of feet above us could result in a few tiny pieces of hail Thursday afternoon and evening. It’s unlikely that this would cause any damage.
We’ll have to watch streams, creeks and a few area rivers the next couple of days. While we don’t expect anything close to the flooding we had in the middle of May, the Roanoke River may rise to a level of 8 feet. This would impact parts of the Greenway and certainly the low water bridge on Wiley Drive.
Showers and thunderstorms remain scattered each afternoon through the weekend, as temperatures gradually warm up. That’s only fitting since the Summer Solstice occurs Saturday just shortly before 6 p.m.
By Father’s Day, the overall air pattern evens out. This means that we’ll turn hotter during the afternoon, with highs around 85-90°. A few hit-or-miss storms late in the afternoon and evening can’t be ruled out, especially near and to the west of the Blue Ridge Parkway.
We’ll then keep it hot and humid each day next week with the chance for showers and storms in the afternoon.