Highest temperatures of 2021 (so far) expected Wednesday afternoon

ROANOKE, Va. – Some parts of the area witnessed an absolute light show from storms Tuesday night.

Following that, we’ll start with patches of fog Wednesday morning. As a large area of high pressure takes over in the Plains, the jet stream continues to rise to the north. This will lead to a widespread severe weather threat to our north.

We, however, will be under a dome of high heat the next several afternoons. In fact, areas like Blacksburg could see their first official 90° day of 2021.

Even though the humidity won’t be overbearing, this is still high heat we’re talking about.

One way to keep cool is to flip the switch on your ceiling fan, so that it spins counter-clockwise. This creates a downdraft and a cooling breeze, and it could also help you save on your electric bill.

Keep in mind that wildfire smoke will also return to our sky, creating a haze at times and poor air quality for those unusually sensitive to changes in the air.

We’ll be equally as hot Thursday, thanks partially to a breeze coming down the mountains. That breeze precedes a front that could give us some evening storms. A couple of these could become strong to severe near and north of I-64.

Once that front sags south, we’ll stay hot, breezy and dry throughout the day Friday. Highs will still be in the upper 80s in the higher elevations and low to mid 90s elsewhere. Any storms will be few and far between Friday and Saturday, with a slightly better chance Sunday. Chances increase early next week, thanks to a drop in the jet stream (storm track).

As the jet stream continues to dig deeper to the south, we’ll notice temperatures backing off. Where exactly this dip happens will determine how much rain we see in the early part of next week. Overall, it looks as though below average temperatures will be possible through much of the first week of August.