ROANOKE, Va. – After three straight days of summer-like warmth, a cool front has come in to change that for us. First and foremost, the wind is going to be a force to be reckoned with. That, in tandem with the low humidity, will make it easier for brush fires to spread. Don’t burn, and be careful as to where you dispose of cigarette butts.
Gusts will peak between 35 and 50 mph in areas west of the Blue Ridge Parkway through Friday afternoon. Be careful driving on I-81, I-77 and US-220, as the wind will be going perpendicular to the roads, creating a crosswind.
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Aside from the wind and the drop in humidity, we’ll also notice temperatures dropping 10-15° compared to Thursday. Highs will range from the middle 60s in the New River Valley to low-to-mid 70s elsewhere.
As the wind drops off a little bit at night, temperatures will fall into the 30s and 40s by early Saturday morning. So, we’ll start the weekend cool with highs Saturday comparable to what we see Friday. By Sunday, the wind will come in from the southwest. That will push our temperatures into the upper 70s and low-to-mid 80s.
The great thing about our weekend weather will be the lack of humidity. That, however, will return late Sunday into Monday.
With that, we’re tracking an area of low pressure to our west that will bring in plenty of moisture. That will translate to higher rain and storm chances Monday.
We’ll be in between storm systems Tuesday, as high temperatures reach well into the 80s.