The rain is here, cooler temperatures are on the way

OAK HILL, WV (WOAY) – Severe storms rolled into and out of the area today as we continue to feel the influence of a front sitting over the southern coalfields. For the next day or so, the front will slowly move south and stall out near the Virginia/North Carolina state line. Along the front, numerous showers and storms will develop, keeping us wet. Rain chances are very high, and amounts will be impressive as the front will tap into a lot of moisture from the Gulf. With the cloud cover and the rain, overnight temperatures will stay steady, eventually dropping into the lower 60s. Patchy fog is also a possibility in areas that have picked up rain.

Tomorrow will be similar to today, with frequent showers and storms and more chances for heavy rain.

The severe threat will not be as great, as the front will be well to our south, but the flooding threat remains. The Weather Prediction Center has kept us in the Level 1 flash flood risk tomorrow, a status that stretches into Wednesday as well. Because of this threat of flooding and flash flooding, the National Weather Service has placed the western and southwestern counties under a Flood Watch until 8 a.m. Wednesday.

Highs tomorrow will begin a significant cooling trend, only topping out in the lower 70s. Lows tomorrow night will also be dropping compared to tonight; they’ll be in the mid-to-upper 50s.

The real cooldown begins Wednesday as the showers end by late in the day and a strong area of high pressure begins to dominate the weather. The high will be centered over eastern Canada and will bring down a lot of cool, dry air. Highs starting on Wednesday will only be in the 60s, and lows by Friday morning will drop into the 40s. Higher elevation areas will see lows in the 30s for several days running! It will be quite a change this football Friday compared to the one last week. With dry air in place, there will be plenty of sunshine during the day and clear skies at night. It will definitely be time to break out the jackets again.