ROANOKE, Va. – Friday combines some of the nicest part of each day this weekend. We stay dry like Sunday but hold on to plenty of warmth like Saturday.
Sunny skies push temperatures into the 80s around lunchtime. We stay above 80 well into the late afternoon.
There is lots of sunshine available at this time of the year. For comparison the longest day of the year is only 20 minutes longer than Friday while the shortest day is 5 hours shorter.
That long, uninterrupted sunshine means it’s very easy to get sunburnt. The high UV index means that if you’re outdoors without sunscreen for even 15 minutes you can start to burn.
Further south Tropical Depression 2 formed yesterday. The system is staying in the Gulf of Mexico and moving south on Saturday leaving us alone.
Instead our storms come from the northeast and move southwest on Saturday. We start dry with hardly any clouds. That early day sunshine helps us warm up quickly.
Showers develop soon after noon with good coverage by 2:00 PM. Storms are unlikely until later in the afternoon so if you have chores to do there are a few afternoon hours available.
Storms have the best chance of forming between 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM. The severe risk is low, but rainfall in the NRV could cause some very isolated flooding. Wind gusts and lightning can also arise from this system.
Severe storms likely stay well to our west on Saturday. If you’re flying through Dallas there could be some storm delays.
The cold front that causes these storms cools us down quite a bit. Temperatures drop about 15 degrees for highs in each zone.
Saturday isn’t great for chores, golfing, or swimming. If you want to spend time outside this weekend Sunday is a much nicer day for it. Even with the cooldown temperatures are still spring-like.
If you’d rather spend some time inside on Sunday we’d love for you to check out the Indycar Detroit Grand Prix on WSLS at 3:00 PM. Temperatures and sky conditions look great for qualifying on Saturday and for the race on Sunday.