A wild Saturday of weather is expected across the area as a strong front moves through. We’ll see temperatures in the 60s Saturday morning, before a big drop in temperatures during the afternoon. A few strong to severe t-storms are also possible Saturday morning.
Let’s detail the impacts and where they will happen:
WHERE: All of NE NC and Eastern VA
WHEN: Saturday morning, 5am to 12pm.
IMPACT: Strong gusty winds as showers and storms move through. Some snowflakes Saturday afternoon.
Our region is in a LEVEL 3 out of 5 severe weather risk zone. This means scattered to numerous areas of strong damaging winds are possible. An isolated tornado is also possible, with the highest risk across NE NC where a little more instability (aka thunderstorm fuel) is expected.
The timing of this threat is Saturday morning. As we approach daybreak, the line of showers and storms will be west of the Hampton Roads metro area. This line will then quickly move off to the east, moving through most of the area between 8-10am. Timing may change a bit so stay tuned, but overall – just keep in mind that this is mainly a Saturday morning event.
For areas of NC including the OBX, a few storms may occur before sunrise Saturday morning ahead of the main line.
Remember, a watch means conditions are favorable for severe weather while a warning means that severe weather is occurring or expected to occur soon. Make sure you have a way to get weather alerts Saturday morning. You can download the FREE WAVY Weather App from the app store to get push notifications sent to your phone.
Once the front moves through, colder temperatures race into the area. We’ll drop 30 degrees (at least) Saturday with some snow showers expected Saturday afternoon and evening. Temperatures Sunday morning will be in the 20s! A hard freeze is expected.
Now, in terms of the snow chances… don’t get too excited. I expect the snow Saturday afternoon to be more of a visual event than an impactful one. With the wet ground and warmer ground, I’m not expecting any significant snowfall totals. A light dusting is possible on the grassy surfaces, mainly north and west of Hampton Roads.
Colder Sunday – with highs in the 40s. We’ll warm back up next week with temperatures climbing back into the 60s.
Meteorologist Ricky Matthews