ROANOKE, Va – Flooding in downtown Roanoke Thursday evening resulted in multiple swift water rescues. This is a perfect example of what we mean by localized flash flooding. The Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport only received 0.23″ of rain from Thursday evening’s storms, but there are radar estimates of 2-3″ of rain in the downtown area.
A similar situation unfolds Friday in that downpours will remain scattered, but they will move slowly. That results in the threat for localized flash flooding.
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These downpours start mostly north of US-460 Friday morning.
Throughout the day and into the evening, these downpours wrap around a disturbance thousands of feet above us and move from north to south.
These storms, along with additional cloud cover, will keep high temperatures generally between 80 and 85° Friday afternoon.
Part of the moisture we’re dealing with is coming from Henri offshore. While this isn’t forecast to make landfall along the coasts of the Carolinas or Virginia, it is going to bring the increased threat for rip currents. Be very careful if you have weekend plans at the beach.
As for the weekend here at home, we’ll be on the west side of Henri. That means sinking air, which leads to lower rain chances and more heat.
As Henri moves north and east, high pressure takes its place. This forces the jet stream farther north through much of next week, resulting in highs in the 90s (upper 80s for some higher elevations).
Your typical summer storms in the afternoon return next Wednesday and Thursday.