ROANOKE, Va. – The wedge has kept us under a layer of cool, damp air since Thursday morning. Friday morning, we start with temperatures mostly in the 30s and pockets of dense fog. Some showers move into areas west of the Parkway through late morning along a cold front.
Once that front moves through, the wind will pick up. Gusts of 25 to 35 miles per hour will be possible in the western half of the area from lunch time onward.
Cold air will be ‘delayed’ in a sense, so high temperatures will have the chance to reach the 50s and 60s Friday afternoon.
We’ll turn cooler heading into the weekend with more clouds around at times.
Come Sunday, we’ll track a weak disturbance sliding to the south of us. With marginally cold air in place, it’s possible that we see a rain/snow mix closer to the North Carolina-Virginia border (perhaps as far north as Floyd-Montgomery-Giles).
After that passes, however, temperatures will mostly rise into the low to mid 50s.
Heading into next week (the first of March), the jet stream retreats to the north. This will allow for milder air to make its way back into the picture. We’ll also keep things mostly dry.
This is all reflected in the Climate Prediction Center’s 6-10 day outlooks (see above).