Inching Closer: Warmer weather on the way as summer makes a return for the weekend

Thursday, with winds from the southeast, we’ll shake off the morning chill a little faster than days past. By the lunchtime hour, more of us hit the 70 degree mark with several lowland counties pushing into the mid & upper 70s by the afternoon. Eastern mountains still struggle but have a good shot at nudging the 70 degree mark. A few fair weather clouds to add variety to the sky, but no rain to speak off which only worsens our drought.

This is the kind of weather where fire dangers start to climb to worrisome levels. If you don’t have to burn, wait until we receive some rain. If you do have too, check with local officials on restrictions and use caution. With clear skies tonight, we’ll drop back into the low 50s for most urban areas while our rural mountain communities enjoy another night in the 40s.

Friday we bring in some humidity and winds from the west-southwest to really help us warm up. It’ll certainly feel more like August as highs reach into the low 80s. Mostly sunny skies with only a handful of clouds at times throughout the day, but again, no rain to speak of.

Friday night is looking comfortable no matter what you have planned. We’ll keep the 60s just past midnight before dropping back into the upper 50s. Southwest winds and a touch of humidity will keep us closer to average.

Saturday we bring the humidity and thermometers up as a nice warm up unfolds across the two-Virginia’s. Highs in the mid 80s under mostly sunny skies really give us that summer feel we’ve missed out on so often this year.

Sunday a few more clouds in the mix but nothing that will hurt temps or bring any relief to the drought. Highs push into the mid 80s with a few spots west of Beckley making a solid run at the 90 degree mark. What a change from the beginning of the week!

Monday has a mostly sunny morning but increasing clouds for the afternoon. Heat and humidity pop-up showers are possible but we’ll have to wait until Tuesday for any beneficial rains. Highs push into the upper 80s with more western towns hitting that 90 degree mark.

Tuesday starts with sun & clouds with temps warming up steadily into the mid and upper 80s by the afternoon. A cold front is expected to cross the region so expect clouds to thicken as the afternoon marches on into our evening hours. Scattered showers with imbedded thunderstorms will bring much needed rain but not in an amount to help. With our compacted dry grounds, heavy downpours will need to be monitored for runoff issues leading to flash flooding.

Wednesday a cold front is expected to bring a few scattered showers from time to time. Not enough rain to help ease the last weeks dry spell but something. A rumble of thunder in the afternoon is possible with isolated heavy downpours. With our ground compact and dry, rushing runoff leading to pooling on roads can happen quickly which will be something to watch while traveling.

In your extended forecast, we finally break the cycle of dry weather with a few systems pushing through bringing us some rain chances. For Beckley, we’re nearly 8 inches of rain off from where we should be this time of the year. The rain we’ll see doesn’t come close to making up that difference, but at least it is something to help a few communities out.

THURSDAY
Warming up, still dry. Highs in the upper 70s.
FRIDAY
Sunshine & warm! Highs in the low 80s.
SATURDAY
Feeling like August, Sun & Clouds. Highs in the mid to upper 80s.
SUNDAY
Mild & humid. Sun & clouds. Highs in the upper 80s.
MONDAY
Dry start, increasing clouds. Iso. shower PM. Highs in the upper 80s.
TUESDAY
Sct. showers PM, mostly cloudy. Highs in the mid 80s.
WEDNESDAY
AM Showers, sun & clouds PM. Highs in the mid 80s.
THURSDAY
Mostly sunny, Iso. PM Shower. Highs in the upper 80s.
FRIDAY
AM sprinkles fade, sunshine returns slowly. Highs in the 80s.

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