ROANOKE, Va. – Cloudy morning skies bring showers soon after noon. Those showers stay light through the middle of the afternoon, but by 5:00 PM rainfall rates pick up with the potential for non-severe storms.
Showers take their time moving through West Virginia. By noon western slopes see only sprinkles. Through the first half of the afternoon light showers make their way over the mountains towards I-81.
The front picks up extra energy as it reaches Lynchburg and Southside. These downpours can produce some lightning and thunder with high wind gusts.
The storm threat ends as the system moves west in the evening. Showers stick around along the North Carolina border overnight. By sunrise on Sunday showers are mostly done.
Rain totals are highest towards Lynchburg and Bedford where the more intense rainfall develops late in the day. Accumulations are noticeably light north of US-460.
Rain in our eastern counties will help bring moisture levels closer to where they should be by this point in the year. Counties below in yellow are abnormally dry. Saturday is the last chance for the next week to improve the ground conditions.
While some storms can develop here today the main threat is well to our south. Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia are the most likely to have more intense weather. Even that risk is much lower than the Level 3 risk that Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and North Carolina had earlier in the week.
Lightning is the most likely type of threat to develop late Saturday. Some wind gusts can climb high, but with generally mild winds today it’s hard for those gusts to break branches or power lines.
With only a month to go until summer starts the sun is out for a long portion of the day and stays high in the sky. Even with our cloud cover the UV index is very high so apply sunscreen if you’re spending a long time outdoors.
Once this cold front moves east high pressure takes over and keeps our weather consistent. Clear skies with mild temperatures are the trend well into the second half of next week.
We hold on to most of our heat after the front. Warmer air coming in keeps Sunday’s temperatures just as warm as Saturday’s. Highs deviate very little from this range over the next seven days.
If you’re looking to get your car washed you have plenty of chances in the week ahead. Sunday and Monday are both particularly dry, and we stay dry through Friday. You could even do it yourself and get some good exercise!
Looking towards next weekend there is a possibility of showers, but the days before that are confidently comfortable. Enjoy the calm weather as long as you’d like.