ROANOKE, Va. – The Luck of the Irish is with us for much of St. Patrick’s Day, as we stay dry with temperatures in the 60s during the afternoon.
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Whatever luck we have, however, is in limited supply come Thursday.
A storm system that will produce a severe weather outbreak in the Plains will drift eastward, giving us the increased potential for severe weather Thursday afternoon and evening. The greater chance of severe thunderstorms will be in Southside, but all of us need to be on alert.
Timing
Whatever we see in the morning Thursday will just be plain rain (nothing severe about it).
By midday/early afternoon, temperatures will have warmed. This could make the environment more conducive to produce a few strong-to-severe thunderstorms south of U.S. 460 through about 5 or 6 p.m.
Should Southside get into the upper 60s to near 70°, the concern is there for damaging storms capable of producing a tornado during the afternoon.
As our upper level system passes through, more storms may develop in the New River Valley closer to sunset before moving east during the evening. These could be strong to severe as well.
Impacts
Due to the amount of wind above us, any storm that develops could bring that wind down to the surface (resulting in damaging gusts). There’s also sufficient rotation in the atmosphere, so the threat for a tornado is there especially in Southside. Localized flooding is possible with any pocket of heavier rain that develops. Hail, if any, would be confined to the strongest of storms.
What To Do
While severe weather may not occur in every neighborhood of the 10 News viewing area, you need to have multiple ways to get warnings. This is good practice any time of year.
- Have the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) turned on on your phone.
- Make sure notifications on Your Local Weather Authority app are turned on as well.
- Stay with us on social media and/or on TV.
- If you have a NOAA Weather Radio, make sure it’s working properly.
- Lastly, call or text loved ones to make them aware of the potential for severe thunderstorms.
After the Storm
Once the storm passes east, we’ll still have some leftover showers on the backside. Some colder air above may allow snowflakes to mix in with the rain north of U.S. 460 Friday morning. Accumulations, if any, would be very light given the warm and wet ground.
Temperatures drop from midnight to Friday afternoon, so the high temperature you see Friday actually happens closer to midnight. The first weekend of spring looks quiet and sunny.
Highs Saturday will be in the 50s with warmer air gradually building in by Sunday.