Weather! Flying Squirrels accompany warm weather’s return

Great weather and baseball are both back in town! Look for a 30-degree change in high temperatures between today and Sunday – and it’s not getting any colder.

April 11, 2012; 9:39 PM • by Weather Dan

It’s been a busy past few days, especially across western Virginia. A number of wildfires are currently burning, primarily of United States Forest Service land in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest; some of the fires have spread on to state-owned and private land as well. Based on the latest from the Virginia Department of Forestry, more than 14,000 acres have been scorched since Friday by several fires that stretch from Page and Shenandoah Counties in the Shenandoah Valley to the highlands of Craig and Allegheny Counties.

Phil Hysell, the Warning Coordination Meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Blacksburg captured this satellite image from Tuesday showing smoke streaming east off the Rich Hole (the northern plume) and Allegheny Tunnels (southern plume) fires. There were reports of smoke on Tuesday as far east as Richmond.

It’s been quite chilly today. Today’s high of 55 marks the coldest day in more than a month, when we hit 53 degrees for a high way back on March 4th. Temperatures will rebound beginning tomorrow, and we may make a run at temperatures near 90(!) by Monday.

Thursday

We’ll start to see some relief from the strong wind that’s been assaulting the state since the weekend tomorrow as an area of low pressure that moved offshore today continues to move out to sea and high pressure builds in from the Northern Plains. A weak upper-level disturbance slides through and will probably kick up a few clouds, but look for skies to stay partly to mostly sunny. Temperatures begin to rebound; look for high temperatures on the warm side of 60 tomorrow, and lows in the upper 30s. The wind will linger for one more day, with gusts up to 20mph during the day. Look for it to finally die down overnight.

Thursday SquirrelCast (vs. Altoona, 6:35pm): The Squirrels are back! And the weather couldn’t be much better (unless it was warmer). But baseball in April isn’t about being warm, right? Temps at first pitch will be in the upper 50s with only a few clouds to spoil an otherwise clear sky. Expect things to cool off to the upper 40s by the 9th inning.

Friday

The warming trend continues, with abundant sunshine and temperatures peaking in the mid 60s. Lows return to near 40 Friday night.

Friday SquirrelCast (vs. Altoona, 6:35pm): Second game, same as the first. Only a little bit warmer… Expect first inning temperatures in the low 60s, cooling to near 55 as things wrap up. Clear skies all around!

Saturday

Temperatures crank up another notch, taking a shot at 75 in the afternoon before slipping into the low 50s overnight, almost a 10-degree increase from Friday. Look for clear skies and very few complaints about the weather.

Saturday SquirrelCast (vs. Altoona, 6:35pm): Take Friday, add ten degrees. Bam! Game-time temperatures hang right near 70, and cool to the upper 50s as the game progresses. Have I mentioned the gorgeous, cloud-free skies?

Sunday

Sunday: High pressure starts to slide out to sea on Sunday, but southwest winds on the backside of the ridge only help temperatures climb even higher. Dewpoints in the 50s and 60s by Sunday will give this weekend a more familiar humid feeling, however. Don’t be surprised to see a few clouds pop up; temperatures will peak near 80. I swear, it’s like Wednesday never happened. Lows overnight only dip into the low 60s.

Sunday SquirrelCast (vs. Altoona, 2:35pm): As Ernie Banks would say, “It’s a great day for baseball! Let’s play two today!” There’s no doubleheader, but it will be a great day for baseball indeed, with lots of sun and temperatures near 80.

The warmth hangs on into next week, as both Monday and Tuesday head towards 85 and may even make a run at 90. It’s going to be a complete change from the middle of these week, not that I’m complaining.

April 11, 2012 9:39 PM 0