ROANOKE, Va. – A line of storms that contributed to a deadly tornado in Oklahoma Monday night will weaken as it moves east Tuesday.
The outflow (air flowing out from the line of storms) left over will trigger a few isolated storms Tuesday after 5 or 6 p.m. in our area. Though these will be small and isolated, they could potentially be strong where they do pop up.
It’s important to note that most of Tuesday and most of the area will be dry.
Come Wednesday morning, we’ll track scattered, non-severe showers and storms. Once these dissipate, we’ll see temperatures rising even more but hardly any afternoon storms.
It’s not until Wednesday evening/Wednesday night that we see a cluster of storms diving down from the northwest. This has the potential to be a doozy.
Wind gusts and/or hail would be the main things we’d have to watch for with this line. Most forecast data suggests that we’ll stay stormy into the early morning hours Thursday.
It will be especially warm ahead of the line, which is why we’ll need to keep a close eye on the severe weather potential Wednesday night.
Once this line of storms leaves the area Thursday morning, we’re left with a conditional severe weather threat. Let me explain.
If the atmosphere can destabilize enough (turn warm and humid enough) after this line of storms, then a cold front will trigger scattered strong storms east of the Roanoke Valley Thursday afternoon.
However, that line of Wednesday night storms could zap the atmosphere of its energy, leaving us with hardly any storms Thursday afternoon.
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Once this system passes east, humidity levels will drop considerably. Mountain showers will be possible Friday. Otherwise, we’ll be cooler and drier through Saturday. Saturday night and Mother’s Day morning, we’ll see the chance for a few light rain showers.