ROANOKE, Va. – The warmth on St. Patrick’s Day was a precursor to what we’ll feel Friday and Saturday.
A southerly breeze helps pump in the warmth Friday afternoon with highs reaching the upper 60s in the mountains and low to mid 70s elsewhere.
Clouds will increase throughout the day, as we track a strong cold front to the west. This will produce severe weather in areas south and west of here. By Friday night and Saturday morning, all that’s left are a few scattered, light rain showers.
The front passes, but the cold air is delayed. Instead, we get a gusty wind to come down the mountains Saturday. This process of downsloping dries up the air and makes it warmer.
Highs reach well into the 70s outside the higher elevations Saturday afternoon.
Eventually, the cooler air catches up to us by Sunday. We start with temperatures in the 40s and end up with highs in the 50s in the mountains and 60s elsewhere.
It’s almost ironic that we cool off a bit on the first day of spring. Spring will have officially sprung around 11:30 a.m. Sunday, when the sun’s rays go directly over the equator (the equinox).
We’ll warm up early next week before a strong storm system brings the chance for heavy rain Wednesday and Thursday.