ROANOKE, Va. – While 10 News has a Weather Authority Alert Day in effect for Tuesday and Wednesday, the storm pattern stays active in the days to follow.
[DIGITAL XTRA: Why El Niño is directly responsible for our back-to-back storms.]
Once Tuesday’s storm moves northeast of Virginia, the area of low pressure will strengthen. This translates to strong wind gusts at times, peaking between roughly 30 and 45 mph Wednesday.
That, in tandem with a saturated ground, could lead to downed tree limbs and/or scattered power outages.
In addition to the wind, we’ll see snow piling up on the western slopes. Some scattered flurries, snow showers and/or sleet pellets will be possible through the first half of the day Wednesday.
The stormy pattern continues Friday, when another coast-to-coast system moves in. This will bring in more rain late Friday into Friday night.
It is possible that we issue another Weather Authority Alert Day for this system.
A westward tilt to the storm is a sign of it a) strengthening and b) pulling in some warmer air to the east. This could result in some stronger thunderstorms across Southside the Carolinas (again).
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Beyond Friday’s storm, it will be very windy Saturday. Colder, Arctic air will likely pour in for the weekend. The Climate Prediction Center’s 6-to-10-day outlook reveals the likelihood of below-average temperatures.
If we can get one of these storm systems to line up with the colder air, we’ll be in business for snow. We’re not watching any one particular storm, but it’s a pattern worth watching during the second half of January.