August 11, 2020 #TriCitiesWx Forecast

Here’s a quick weather forecast that’ll get you through the rest of the week, starting with the outlook:

• Tonight-Mostly cloudy with a small chance of showers and thunderstorms this evening. Patchy fog is possible toward morning. Low 67.
• Wednesday-Mostly sunny with scattered showers and thunderstorms developing during the day. High 88.
• Wednesday night-Partly to mostly cloudy with scattered showers and storms. Low 67.
• Thursday-Partly cloudy with showers and storms likely. High 87.
• Friday-Partly cloudy, more scattered afternoon showers and storms. High 85.

I’ll admit, the forecast looks a bit ominous, but it’s not as bad as all that. A co-worker told me today that he was going to go home and mow the lawn because he thought it was going to rain for five days. Nope. That’s not what most forecasts mean at all!

Truth be told, most of the time it’s not raining all day or all night. And this time of year is generally not when it happens (although there are always exceptions!). We normally see it rain all day in the late fall through winter when slow moving storm systems bring us a soaking rain that does, indeed, go through the whole day.

When you read the outlook, or someone else’s forecast, look for words like “scattered.” Or perhaps “occasional” or “off-and-on.” That means that the rain and thunderstorms that are probably likely won’t drop rainfall for all day or even a majority of it.

I said all that to say that if you have any plans in this COVID-19 mess we’re all in, don’t cancel them. IF you need to mow the yard or play golf or run errands that can’t be done online, go for it. Just keep an eye to the sky. When you hear thunder or when you see dark clouds, that’s when you should stop for a little while and get indoors until storms pass.

I’ll be back with another forecast soon. Have a great day!

August 5, 2020 #TriCitiesWx Forecast

Thankfully for some, most of the rain is to our east this afternoon in the mountains, with lone storms near Huntsville and Tellico Plains. That’s allowed temperatures to ramp up a bit farther than expected. Today’s about the forecast we see coming up in today’s Tri-Cities Weather Blog forecast!

As I look at the radar, one storm is nearby, just south of Jonesborough and Johnson City and just north of Erwin. That storm is barely moving, but drifting northeast as it does, with a bit of heavy rain. Somewhat random spots of rain and storms will be a possibility each afternoon in the coming days. Here’s the outlook:

• Tonight-Partly cloudy with a stray shower or storm this evening. Low 64.
• Thursday-Partly cloudy, some scattered showers and storms are possible in the afternoon. High 87.
• Thursday night-Partly cloudy with a few evening showers lingering. Low 65.
• Friday-Partly to mostly sunny, with only a small chance of rain. High 87.
• Saturday-Partly to mostly sunny. Hi 89.
• Sunday-Mostly sunny with a small chance of a pop-up shower or thunderstorm. Highs near 90.

Thanks to a stationary front and low pressure to our east, there’s a decent chance of rain tomorrow. In fact, tomorrow afternoon probably bears the highest chance of rain in the entire forecast. Once things taper off tomorrow evening, dry weather is likely for most of us for a while.

In fact, we get into our normal summer pattern weather wise late in the week. Lots of sunshine and humidity, with afternoon pop-up showers and storms. It doesn’t appear that any organized areas of storms are likely after Thursday for a little while. We’ll have highs in the upper 80s this week, and near 90 this weekend.

Thanks for checking here for the forecast, have a great Thursday!

August 4, 2020 #TriCitiesWx Forecast

The weather is quiet over most of our area this afternoon, with only some storms in Washington and Unicoi Counties at close to 5 PM. We’ll be back to summer the rest of the week with a lot more sunshine and occasional bouts of showers and storms. Welcome to the Tri-Cities Weather Blog forecast through Saturday!

One storm did move through the area today, bringing enough rain to parts of Blountville to barely get the ground wet. Just to the south, the rain was a little heavier, but not much. As is usual this time of year, what storms are around will be around through the evening and die off after dark, then fire up again tomorrow afternoon. Here’s the outlook through Saturday:

• Tonight-A few showers, maybe a rumble of thunder. Partly cloudy overnight, with patchy morning fog. Low 63.
• Wednesday-Partly to mostly sunny, with a few afternoon showers and thunderstorms. High 85.
• Wednesday night-Partly cloudy with a stray evening shower or thunderstorm. Low 64.
• Thursday-Partly cloudy, a few scattered afternoon storms. High 86.
• Friday-Mostly sunny, a slight chance of rain or a storm late. High 87.
• Saturday-Mostly sunny, a small chance of rain or a thunderstorm in the afternoon. High 88.

A very weak cold front has just made its way through our area, and will continue into the Carolinas before it stalls out tomorrow. That should help tonight clear out most of the rain, and introduce cooler weather and some patchy fog in the morning.

Tomorrow should start out in the low 60’s for most, and will rise into the mid 80’s for temperatures tomorrow afternoon. Much of the day will be filled with sunshine, with some pop-up showers and storms possible in the afternoon. Thursday looks a lot the same, but there should be better coverage of showers and storms during the afternoon.

By Friday, most organized weather things will be far away and we’ll be back into sunny and warmer conditions, with afternoon and evening showers and storms for a few. That’s the forecast for both Friday and Saturday, with temperatures rising to the upper 80’s, perhaps near 90, each afternoon. It does look like the hotter of the two days will be Saturday.

As far as outdoor plans are concerned, normal summer rules apply. Go do what you want to do (safely, of course, since it’s 2020), and be aware of the sky so if you hear thunder you can quickly get indoors. That’s it!

Don’t forget, you can hear my forecast each day on any of the stations listed either in the blog’s bio or to the right side of the screen. Links are provided if you want to listen online. Generally, I’m on the air at least once an hour, so you can get a quick look at the next day or so by listening in each day. Or, keep an eye on the blog and I’ll work on posting each forecast here.

July 30, 2020 #TriCitiesWx Forecast

Some of us haven’t seen any storms yet, but that’s changing late this afternoon. Some showers and storms are on the western and southwestern edges of the Tri-Cities, ready to bring some heavy rain north of Greeneville and East of Duffield for the next few hours. Welcome to the Tri-Cities Weather Blog forecast through the weekend!

We’re at 85 degrees this afternoon at Tri-Cities Airport, right at our average for this time of year. In pockets of our area, though, the rain has cooled things off quite a bit. That will continue to be the case off and on through tomorrow, then our normal pattern for summer resumes. Here’s the outlook:

• Tonight-Mostly cloudy with scattered showers and storms. Rain could be heavy at times. Low 68.
• Friday-Partly to mostly cloudy, with scattered showers and storms. Heavy rain could cause flooding. High 85.
• Friday night-Mostly cloudy with scattered showers and storms. Low 68.
• Saturday-Partly cloudy with a few showers and storms in the afternoon. High 88.
• Sunday-Partly cloudy with a small chance of afternoon showers and storms. High 85.
• Monday-Partly cloudy with a small chance of afternoon showers and storms. High 83.

Keep in mind through tomorrow night that some places may see showers and thunderstorms off and on multiple times. That could be what brings flooding and potential mudslides in places. Be aware of that if you live where flooding normally occurs when lots of rain falls in a few days’ time.

Once we get through Friday night, we’ll be back to normal summer weather. Sunny skies at times with pop-up showers and storms in the afternoons.

Be careful around the storms in the coming days, and remember to get to higher ground and don’t cross water covered roadways if you encounter flooding. And, as always, get indoors when you hear thunder…lightning is frightening!

July 27, 2020 #TriCitiesWx Forecast

Unsettled weather continues this summer, which means you’ll have to be aware of the possibilities of lightning and rain with storms. This week will be particularly more like that than most weeks. Welcome to the Tri-Cities Weather Blog forecast through Friday!

This time of year, cold fronts don’t get too far south. They might get to the Smokies, dump some rain on us for a few days, then either completely disappear or move back north as a cold front…and some do both numerous times! This time, we’ll have two. One getting close and stalling on Tuesday, and another one on Thursday and Friday. Here’s the stormy outlook that’s causes us:

• Tonight-Mostly cloudy skies with a few showers and storms this evening. Low 68.
• Tuesday-Partly cloudy with scattered showers and thunderstorms. High 86.
• Tuesday night-Partly to mostly cloudy with scattered showers and storms, mainly in the evening. Low 68.
• Wednesday-Cloudy skies with scattered showers and storms. High 86.
• Thursday-Rain and thunderstorms likely. High 83.
• Friday-Cloudy with scattered showers and storms. High 82.

As gloomy and doomy (is that a word?) as that forecast looks, it’s not without calm periods also. Typically, it does not “rain all day” around here this time of year unless it relates to a tropical system that has come in from the coast. That’s not happening here, so the sun will be out from time to time during all of this.

The worst of the weather this week looks to be Thursday and Friday. A stationary front will drift into Southwest Virginia, and when low pressure comes in near those, that can spark a good amount of rain and thunderstorms. So be prepared for that later this week.

Thanks for checking here for the forecast. Have a great Tuesday!