Dense fog will develop in the Greenbrier Valley overnight, becoming more spotty in the New River Gorge National Park.
Chief Meteorologist Chad Merrill has the latest forecast in the 11 p.m. newscast:
Chief Meteorologist Chad Merrill provides details on the upcoming pattern change in a Facebook Live at 8 p.m.:
Latest weather forecast from Newswatch at 5 p.m.:
TUESDAY TO EARLY WEDNESDAY: Dense fog Tuesday morning in the river valleys and Greenbrier Valley will give way to increasing clouds and a steady rain in the afternoon. The sky will clear Tuesday night but dense fog will once again become widespread across the region. Remember to use low beams when driving through fog to see at longer ranges.
WEDNESDAY: The pea soup fog will break up during the morning and a few glimpses of sun will appear. The wind will increase to 15-20 mph out of the Southwest between Noon-2 p.m. and the temperatures will warm to 60 degrees. Then, between 3-7 p.m., a cold front will drive in wind gusts 35-40 mph and temperatures will fall into the upper 30s. Widely scattered power outages are likely, but this won’t be a widespread blackout. Between 7-9 p.m., snow flurries will commence in western Greenbrier and Pocahontas County.
THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY: A breezy to gusty Northwest wind is expected, reaching 25-30 mph at times. Wind chills will range from the mid-30s in the Greenbrier Valley to the 20s along Route 19 and I-77 to the single digits and teens above 4,000 feet in western Pocahontas County. Occasional snow showers are likely. Three-day snow accumulation expected in our region is seen below on the map. The most snow accumulation outside of western Pocahontas, eastern Nicholas and western Greenbrier County will occur Thursday night into Friday morning.
Slippery travel is expected above 3,000 feet Thursday night into Friday and again Friday night into Saturday morning. The wind will act as a drying agent for the remainder of the region, so a flash freeze is not expected.
SUNDAY: A few glimpses of sun return on Sunday.
THANKSGIVING WEEK: A complete pattern reversal is expected as the polar vortex strengthens, Pacific jet stream strengthens and a trough pushes into the West. All the snow will melt no later than Tuesday for much of the area, by Thanksgiving Day for Snowshoe. Temperatures will push back into the upper 50s to low 60s by the middle of the week. The weather will likely be dry to kick start the holiday weekend.
Note: As of November 17, this is Beckley and White Sulphur Springs’ second warmest November on record and Bluefield’s third warmest November.
