Skip to main content
Cloudy icon
45º

‘Pumpkin Spice Warning’ as fall air arrives right on cue

Friday and Saturday mornings could feature the coolest weather we’ve seen in about four months

Pumpkin spice alerts starting Thursday

ROANOKE, Va. – The cold front we’ve talked about for about a week now has come and gone, but not without dumping a lot of rain on parts of the area. Buchanan and Montvale were the ones to see the most rain and flooding Wednesday, as seen in this picture (below) from Angie Rizzo.

Recommended Videos



Now that we’re on the back side of this front, we get to enjoy some true, fall weather on the first full day of fall.

We’ll see more clouds in the mountains and more sun to the east. Along with plenty of dry air, comes fall-like temperatures. Highs range from the low to mid 60s in the New River Valley to the low to mid 70s just east of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

High temperature forecast for Thursday, September 23, 2021

It will be pretty breezy at times, with wind gusts around 20-30 mph. That could be enough to knock down some trees in areas hit hardest by the rain the past two days.

Wind speed and gust forecast for 9/23/2021

Once the wind calms down, however, temperatures drop. We’re looking at lows in the 40s first thing Friday morning. That will be the coolest weather that most of us have seen in about four months.

Overnight lows heading into Friday morning, 9/24/2021

The dip in the jet stream that’s causing this cool-down will be with us in some capacity through Saturday and Sunday.

Upper air pattern through Saturday, 9/25/2021

That will make for a chilly morning tailgating at Tech or running the Virginia 10-Miler in Lynchburg. Otherwise, the afternoon looks perfect for some football at Lane Stadium!

Virginia Tech football forecast for 9/25/2021

This is exactly the kind of weather we need in order for fall colors to pop. Obviously, it’s very early in the season. Therefore, the only patchy changes we’re seeing so far are in the highest elevations.

Foliage report as of 9/23/2021

Send your foliage photos throughout the season through Pin It!