ROANOKE, Va. – Roanoke and Lynchburg each tied their record highs Thursday afternoon. This heat wave shows no signs of crashing Friday either. We expect near-record heat again in the Star and Hill Cities.
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Combine that with the humidity, and the heat turns potentially dangerous again Friday afternoon. That’s especially the case in/around Lynchburg where there’s a Heat Advisory in effect between Noon and 7 p.m.
Make sure you’re drinking plenty of water and/or electrolytes. Seek shade, and take breaks every 15-25 minutes, if you’re going to be working in this heat. Athletes should consider removing pads and/or practicing indoors during the peak heat of the day.
Scattered storms develop after 1 p.m. Friday and Saturday afternoons. Because of the heat and humidity, any of these storms could turn very electric and contain potentially-damaging wind gusts.
By Sunday, we’ll be cooler with a northeast breeze. Still, we expect scattered showers and storms. Most of these will form in the New River Valley and Southside.
At this point, we’ll likely have Tropical Storm Fred riding parallel to Florida’s Gulf Coast. This storm could be a player in our weather through the first half of next week.
If Fred is stronger, it will force a front farther north. This would open the gates for more tropical rain Monday and Tuesday, leading to a beneficial 1-3″ of rain.
If, however, this storm is weaker, the front would keep it shoved south and we wouldn’t see as much rain.
Keep up to date with us, as we continue to fine-tune this part of the forecast. Behind Fred, we’ll likely get Grace east of the Caribbean in the coming days. There’s no immediate impact to our area, but we’ll keep a close eye on this one as well.
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