ROANOKE, Va. – After what feels like an eternity of heat and rain, we’re going to be dry and sunny for the entirety of the week.
Monday marks the beginning of an extended cooldown period that will last throughout the week. Highs today will range in the 70s across the region, with a few areas to the east possibly hitting 80. After Monday, we’ll witness a dramatic drop in temperatures and humidity, as highs will plummet into the upper 60s to low 70s. We could see some areas of patchy frost from overnight lows getting into the upper 30s to low 40s, so it might not be a bad idea to bring potted plants inside.
Much further to our south, Hurricane Milton has strengthened into a major Category 3 hurricane and is expected to continue its second round of rapid intensification over the next 36 hours. Category 4 status is expected with this storm in the coming days as well. Milton will make landfall just south of Tampa later in the day Wednesday as AT LEAST a Category 3 storm.
This will be a life-threatening storm, with several evacuation orders already in place.