Rare, summer-like warmth happens Thursday

Wednesday holds onto mostly cloudy skies
Spotty rain Thursday; record breaking warmth expected
Turning cooler and unsettled for the weekend

WEDNESDAY

A warm front lifts through the area today triggering a few stray showers for areas north of I-64. Most of us remain dry today with mostly cloudy skies. Our highs today will be a little cooler than yesterday, but still climb into the mid 60s with a few low 70s. It won’t be as windy with winds in the 5-10mph range.

Mostly cloudy early with a stray showers. — Mostly cloudy early with a stray showers.(WDBJ Weather)

Wednesday night will be very mild as lows will only drop down into the 50s and low 60s! A few showers will try to work in after midnight and into Thursday morning. Most will see with a few showers possible (most should stay dry) with partly cloudy skies.

RECORD BREAKING HEAT

Record-smashing heat looks promising on Thursday! It will feel like summer (which is very rare for this time of the year) as highs soar into the 70s and low 80s.

We could see new record highs by Thursday afternoon. — We could see new record highs by Thursday afternoon.(WDBJ Weather)

While there’s a chance for some light rain for a few folks Thursday morning, most of us remain dry. Winds will be strong throughout the day with gusts reaching 25-35+MPH.

We will be dry Thursday night with lows in the 40s and low 50s. We see cooler temperatures behind Thursday’s front setting us up for some cooler air come Friday.

FRIDAY - SUNDAY

Expect mostly dry and cooler weather on Friday. Highs will cool back down into the 50s and low 60s (actually still above normal by a few degrees!) with a mix of sun and clouds and breezy conditions. Lows Friday night will read near freezing in the low to mid 30s.

Another system looks to impact our hometowns on Saturday. Right now we are tracking a chance for mostly a chilly scattered rain event, but some of the higher elevations in the mountains may be cold enough to get a wintry mix. We’ll continue to monitor the potential.

Most will see rain on Saturday, but a light mix is possible in the mountains if colder air is... — Most will see rain on Saturday, but a light mix is possible in the mountains if colder air is present.(WDBJ7)

Highs will cool to below our average levels on Saturday in the 30s and low 40s and then warm back up on Sunday (50s/60s) with drier conditions.

SLIGHT CHANCE OF SCIENCE PODCAST

Did you know that weather plays a crucial role for K9′s? Meteorologist Catherine Maxwell talked with Sergeant Heath Hyatt, K9 officer with Christiansburg Police Department and master K9 trainer for Virginia, about the struggles and benefits weather can bring to solving the case. Here’s a preview:

Slight Chance of Science has another podcast episode out! This one talks about how weather... — Slight Chance of Science has another podcast episode out! This one talks about how weather plays a role on K9's abilities.(WDBJ7)

If you have an idea for a topic that you want us to explore, send in your requests to weather@wdbj7.com. Slight Chance of Science will feature science topics from our team of meteorologists here at WDBJ7. You can listen to our podcast on any platform where you stream podcasts from. Enjoy!

Copyright 2020 WDBJ. All rights reserved.