WOAY-TV (Oak Hill, WV): We are fewer than 24-hours away from a rewarding and prestigious 6-mile race in the New River Gorge National Park and it’ll be a humid one.
Chief Meteorologist Chad Merrill has the latest:
EARLY SATURDAY PACKET PICKUP (6:30-7:00 AM): The air will appear rather “heavy” from higher humidity, but it will be dry. Runners can expect cloudy skies and temperatures around 62 degrees.
RACE WEATHER (7:00-8:30 AM): Roads will be wet at the start thanks to rain Friday evening, but the roads will dry out during the latter half of the race. Fog is likely to form overnight/early Saturday in the New River Gorge, so runners may see briefly limited visibility when crossing over the bridge on Fayette Station Road at river level. The weather will be dry and the sky cloudy with a light to calm wind during the race. The temperature will drop to 60 degrees in the gorge and then reach 65 degrees by the end of the race on the ridge above the gorge, but it will be humid, so runners should hydrate.
POST-RACE WEATHER/AWARDS CEREMONY (8:30-11 AM): The nearby diffuse front will spark a heavy downpour between 8:30-11 a.m. In between the rain, expect intervals of clouds and one or two peaks of sun. The temperature will reach 67 degrees.
After Noon, expect widespread downpours from the pre-existing front with quite humid conditions. These showers will sit over one spot for a good 25 minutes and produce very heavy rain rates. Flash Flooding is likely to occur, so watch out for standing water in the afternoon.
Chief Meteorologist Chad Merrill has the latest forecast: