ROANOKE, Va. – While Louisiana and the rest of the northern Gulf Coast brace for Hurricane Ida today, our weather at home will offer less drama.
It’s been quite hot throughout August. In fact, Roanoke is running three degrees above-average and it’s the second hottest August on record at the moment.
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We’ll keep the hot and humid conditions in the forecast to wrap up the final weekend in August. Many of us rise into the 90s again for highs.
It could feel hotter than these marks during the afternoon, due to the humidity.
The only relief will come from isolated storms, mainly in the afternoon. As there is plenty of moisture for these storms to work with, we can’t rule out the possibility of localized flooding.
Storm chances look similar Monday and Tuesday, so we’ll keep the small chance of flooding in the forecast.
The flooding threat could increase Wednesday, depending on the ultimate track of Ida’s remnants.
The storm has rapidly intensified from a Category 1 hurricane to a Category 4 over the past 18 hours. The wind speeds have increased by 55 miles per hour!
This makes Ida the second major storm of the 2021 season. For comparison, there were seven such storms last year (tying the record from 2005).
The storm will make landfall and bring devastating impacts to Louisiana and surrounding areas today. Life-threatening storm surge, catastrophic wind damage and flooding rainfall are all on the table.
The storm will slowly move inland and eventually turn northeast towards our area.
The center of the storm’s remnants will pass near or north of the region on Wednesday. That’s when we expect the highest risk for heavy rain and flooding.
We should have a better idea of rainfall totals and which zones should be most concerned with flooding in the coming days.
After the rain moves out Wednesday night, we’re looking at sunshine, cooler temperatures and lower humidity into next weekend.