HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) – After a mild start to the week, big changes are on the way Wednesday night.
Thursday is a First Alert Weather Day with strong, gusty winds expected to accompany a 20 degree temperature drop that will also produce the first snowfall of the season for some parts of the region.
Wednesday morning started quite mild with temperatures in the 50s, which also produced some early fog. Sunshine will be around, more for the morning with increasing clouds into the afternoon.
Any threat of rain will remain isolated and not heavy or widespread for the afternoon, mostly after 3pm west to east. The bulk of the activity will arrive for the evening rush.
After another mild day, the breeze will increase as a broken line of showers arrives from west to east late day into early evening. This will be short lived, but can be intense with some downpours and gusty wind. With this line, temperatures will drop from the 60s to the 50s.
However, it’s right behind the front itself where we quickly cool. For West Virginia, this should be about 8pm. The Shenandoah Valley will feel the drop around 9pm. Dry air quickly rushes in to drop temperatures through the 40s. As we clear out, temperatures will plummet to the 30s for overnight lows. There will be some brief sunshine early Thursday morning.
Many will wake up Thursday to a much stiffer breeze, gusts to 25 mph, and temperatures in the 30s to begin the day. Wind chills will likely be in the upper 20s for the mountains.
With the front through Wednesday night, Thursday through Saturday will be quite windy, making already chilly temperatures feel even colder. Winds will gust 25-40 mph at times, the highest along the Alleghenies and higher ridges.
While the wind usually dies down at night, the next several nights will remain windy. The strongest gusts will taper off Saturday, but the breeze will stick around Sunday to end the weekend.
Wind chills in the 20s and 30s are likely from Wednesday night and Thursday morning right through the weekend.
To make things more interesting, this system will also bring it’s first taste of winter precipitation to the region for some.
Heavy, accumulating snow is expected for the Alleghenies, where many will likely pick up over half a foot of snow for their first snowfall of the season. Isolated spots of 12″ are possible.
For those in West Virginia outside of the Alleghenies, and the far western Valley along higher terrain, minor accumulation and/or flurries are likely Thursday into Friday.
Travel in parts of West Virginia and the Alleghenies will be slippery at times, especially along the higher terrain where white out conditions with blowing and drifting snow is possible.
Snow squalls are also possible for the entire region Thursday across the Valley that can reduce visibility quickly on the roads, creating hazardous driving conditions.
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