ROANOKE, Va. – It was just a few days ago that temperatures reached the 70s and lower 80s.
In typical March fashion, however, the temperature roller coaster has sped down the hill. Wind chills early Tuesday morning are in the teens and 20s.
Despite a gusty wind at times, afternoon temperatures recover a few degrees more Tuesday than they did Monday.
This gusty wind is more than just a nuisance, however. It is adding to a brush fire threat the next two days.
A Fire Weather Watch will be in effect Wednesday, as the wind gusts get stronger (about 30 to 45 mph at times).
We’re are monitoring two fires at the moment. One is on 12 O’Clock Knob Road in southwest Roanoke County/Salem. The other is near Catawba off Keffer Road.
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Remember that there is a statewide burn ban in place each day until 4 p.m. through the end of April.
While we’re not in a drought, we would like some rain to help extinguish these fires. It looks like that will come Friday, as we track a system moving up the East Coast.
This will be a chilly rain at times. It will linger into Saturday morning before turning more scattered Saturday afternoon.
Most recent forecast data shows that this could be a soaking rain.
This system moves offshore, keeping us mostly dry Sunday.