ROANOKE, Va. – It was a busy Friday evening for Your Local Weather Authority as thunderstorms moved through our area. One was tornado-warned in Pittsylvania and Halifax Counties, dropping large hail as it pushed through.
The storms postponed the finish of the Xfinity Series race in Martinsville to Sunday and more storms are in the forecast this evening.
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Before they arrive, you can expect warmer highs than we had to end the work week. Despite not much sunshine, many of us will rise to the 70s.
Any rain during the midday and afternoon is very spotty and non-severe. The storms we’re watching are projected to arrive during the evening.
The timing is not ideal for race fans in Martinsville, as the green flag for the Blue-Emu 500 is scheduled to fly at 7:30 p.m.
I would go ahead and prepare yourself for delays and perhaps we see the race pushed to Sunday, just like the Xfinity one was.
Any of these storms could be strong to severe. I’m watching damaging wind gusts as the primary threat. Also, an isolated tornado can’t be ruled out anywhere in the viewing area.
There will be a large hail threat for Southside, while localized flooding is possible west of the Parkway.
The rain and storms will come to an end overnight.
We can’t rule out a spotty shower or two at some point Sunday, but overall, it looks like a much drier day. In fact, we’ll probably get a good amount of sunshine!
Temperatures trend further into the 70s during the afternoon, about 10 degrees above-average.
The work week starts dry, breezy and warm on Monday. It will likely be the warmest day of the next seven.
Models are split at the moment on rain chances during the work week. Stay tuned for updates on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday’s forecasts.
A big story Thursday, Friday and next weekend could be a big cool-down. The Climate Prediction Center continues to paint our region in the cooler-than-average region in their 6 to 10 day temperature outlook. We’ll see if this materializes.