Wednesday, April 1, 2009 Forecast

Happy first day of April to everyone! As the saying goes, "April showers bring May flowers" and we're going to be experiencing those showers throughout the day today. Right now, scattered showers are located all across SE West Virginia with heavier bands of rain into the eastern portions of the CWA around Lexington nad Amherst. So far, most areas have received around .15" of precip this morning and I expect the rain to continue as scattered showers through the morning hours. Our winds will be breezy from the SW. Most precip should be out of the NRV by mid-afternoon...say after 2PM with the passage of the cold front. Scattered T-storms are not out of the question as we go through the afternoon. We may even see some sun later this evening. With cloudiness and rain, expect temperatures to reach the upper 50's to lower 60's this afternoon...61 is my forecast for the NRV under mostly cloudy skies through the afternoon, with partly to mostly sunny skies this evening.

The chance of precip will be on the rise as we go through the early morning and afternoon on Thursday. There is a Moderate risk of severe storms over portions of deep south, including the states of Mississippi and Alabama/western Georgia. By Thursday evening, portions of the Blue Ridge will likely experience some rainfall as a surface low moves northeastward out of ArkLaTex region and funnels precip northward into the south and mid-Atlantic. Most areas will be under mostly cloudy skies with on and off drizzle as we have breezy SE wind banking up against the mountains...but some breaks of sun are possible during the midday. Temperatures will be slightly warmer than today, with a good return of warm air from the south. Expect the lower to mid-60's Thursday afternoon...with a forecast high of 62.

Rain will continue overnight Thursday night and into Friday morning as the associated cold front and low make their way through the Ohio Valley and to the NE. Precip should be out of the area by afternoon/evening hours on Friday, but expect a good coverage of rain during the morning hours as upper-level divergence at 700mb will likely enhance rainfall. Temperatures will cool down slightly on Friday, with afternoon highs in the upper 50s and our winds will be breezy again from the WSW. Our high for the day may be reached early in the day so expect warmer temperatures in the morning hours and slightly cooler temps in the evening.

Little River at Snowville bridge is at 1.42 feet at 6:30 AM this morning. It has been falling slightly since Sunday afternoon.