FXUS61 KRNK 160027
AFDRNK

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Blacksburg VA
827 PM EDT Thu Oct 15 2026

.WHAT HAS CHANGED...
Aviation discussion updated.

&&

.KEY MESSAGES...
1) Showers today, with a slight chance of thunderstorms. 

2) Gusty winds Friday night into Saturday morning. Below 
normal temperatures for the weekend. Frost possible in the mountains 
Sunday morning.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
KEY MESSAGE 1: Showers today, with a slight chance of thunderstorms. 

A backdoor cold front is currently draped across the area, roughly 
oriented parallel to the US 460 corridor, and has been the focus for 
scattered showers through the day so far, mainly to southeast WV, 
the northern New River Valley and into the Roanoke Valley. 
Precipitation will continue into the evening, as the front nearly 
stalls over the region. Some MLCAPE is present along the warm 
frontal part of the low pressure system, which will slowly start to 
lift northward over WV and into the OH Valley, which will keep 
slight chances of thunderstorms in the west and Alleghany Highlands 
area for today.

Cloud cover along and behind the front will suppress afternoon high 
temperatures in the northern half of the forecast area, mainly in 
the low to mid 70s. South of the front, temperatures are already in 
the upper 70s to even low 80s, so will likely see low to mid 80s for 
those areas. Overall, these temperatures are still 5 to 15 degrees 
above seasonal normals.


KEY MESSAGE 2: Gusty winds Friday night into Saturday morning. Below 
normal temperatures for the weekend. Frost possible in the mountains 
Sunday morning.

A strong cold front and an amplifying 500mb trough will reach 
the area by Friday. At this time, the highest potential for 
severe thunderstorms is north of the forecast area, over MD, PA,
and other parts of the northern Mid Atlantic, closer to the 
primary surface low. However, cannot rule out a few 
thunderstorms, nor redevelopment of showers/storms in the 
Piedmont late Friday, as some CAMs are indicating. 

Gusty winds will be a bigger impact to the local are, from Friday 
afternoon, peaking during the overnight hours, and then tapering off 
by mid Saturday afternoon. Could see stronger gusts linger across 
the higher peaks of the Blue Ridge into Saturday evening.

There will be a significant cool down behind this front, the 
approaching airmass of Canadian origin will bring temperatures 
near to below freezing, especially in the mountains. NBM 
probabilities for temperatures below 32 deg F Sunday morning are
above 90% for the typical cold spots, like Burkes Garden and 
Mount Rogers VA, and western Greenbrier County WV, with 45% to 
65% elsewhere in the mountains. From Friday to Saturday, could 
see a 15 to 20 degrees swing in high temperatures. Dry weather 
and moderating temperatures will dominate the rest of the week 
as high pressure moves over the region once again.

&&

.AVIATION /00Z FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/...

With a warm front draped across the region, there is a mixture 
of VFR to LIFR restrictions at local terminals this evening. 
These restrictions look to linger through the overnight period, 
with vicinity showers continuing through at least the 06-09 UTC 
timeframe for BLF and LWB. Overnight, cigs will continue to drop
and IFR/LIFR appears likely through at least 12z/8AM before 
lower clouds and fog begin to mix out for most terminals. BLF 
may be the exception given it will remain within southwest flow.

Southwest flow looks to increase through the mid morning and
early afternoon hours before a cold front looks to approach and
push into the region late towards the end of the TAF period. BLF
and LWB look to transition to westerly/northwesterly winds by
the 21-00 UTC timeframe. Winds at all terminals look to increase
to 10-15 knots sustainedafter 18 UTC, with gusts in the 20-25
knot range. These winds look to continue through the end of the
TAF period. 

With the frontal passage, some showers and thunderstorms may
occur at BLF and LWB; however, confidence is not high enough to
include thunder at this time. 


EXTENDED AVIATION OUTLOOK...
Behind the front Friday night into Saturday morning, look for 
an abrupt wind shift to the northwest and gusty conditions at 
the surface. These stronger winds should gradually veer north 
and decrease through the day Saturday. Dry weather and VFR 
conditions are expected into Sunday and Monday.

&&

.RNK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
VA...None.
NC...None.
WV...None.

&&

$$

DISCUSSION...AS
AVIATION...BMG/EB