ROANOKE, Va. – If there’s one piece of advice we can give you, it’s to enjoy Friday. Big changes are in the forecast for the upcoming weekend.
A breeze from the south will take our morning temperatures in the 30s and turn them into 60s by the afternoon Friday.
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A strong cold front moves in Saturday.
Moisture ahead of the front starts as rain early in the morning. Some pockets may be heavy, but the worst of the weather forms along a line of storms that moves through the Carolinas.
As cold air rushes in, we could all see a few bursts of snow through midday. However, the best chance for more persistent snow is going to be along the favored west-facing slopes into the afternoon and evening.
This means periods of snow for the Highland County Maple Festival. The St. Patrick’s Day parade in Roanoke will be cold, but I think it will be mostly dry (with the exception of some scattered snow flurries/showers in the wind). Lastly, it will be very cold and windy for the fundraiser for NRV Cares at Eastern Divide Brewing Company Saturday afternoon.
That’s going to be the main impact with this storm - the wind. It is going to be howling at times Saturday!
Sustained wind speeds will be around 15 to 30 mph, and gusts will peak between roughly 30 and 50 mph. Make sure to secure any loose objects, such as trampolines, hanging baskets, basketball nets, lightweight trash cans, etc.
As cold air rushes in, that wind is going to make it feel nasty. Wind chills Saturday afternoon into Saturday night will be in the single digits and teens. Hope you didn’t put away the hat and gloves just yet.
The wind backs off a little bit heading into Sunday morning, as temperatures drop to near-record territory in parts of the area.
While this is unusually cold for this time of March, it is a reminder that we still do fall below freezing this time of year. Our average last freeze doesn’t come until mid-to-late April.
That said, we quickly turn the corner next week. Cool mornings will be followed by mostly warmer afternoons. With the exception of Wednesday, most days next week will reach the 60s.
The Climate Prediction Center’s 6 to 10 day outlook takes us through the first day of spring, and it shows mostly above average warmth with a few chances to get wet as well.