Burn One Down

A respectable line of showers will move through the area this evening. Low pressure will move across the Great Lakes Friday night delivering the only rain we will see for the next few days. Wind speeds are already beginning to increase and gusts are reaching well above 20 mph as air pressure in the upper atmosphere tries to equalize. There’s a slight chance of severe thunderstorms and damaging winds as the front passes overnight. However, this system does not seem to have enough juice to add up to an impressive storm. All the same, watch for potentially damaging winds especially on ridge tops across the northern mountains. Dew points and relative humidity have already risen well into the 40s. This can aid in the prevention of wildfires across our state. However, with the windy conditions that threat still exists. Gov Manchin has issued a ban on all outdoor burning until further notice. The quarter to half inch of rain slated to arrive late Friday should provide some temporary relief.

Behind the front we can expect cooler air through the rest of the weekend and the first part of next week. Morgantown can expect a low in the mid 40s Friday night and lows in the upper 30s through the first part of next week. Although our skies will begin to clear by midday Saturday, daytime temps will struggle to reach the upper 50s until the middle of next week. Also, look for freezing temps in the higher elevations over the next few nights. Things will gradually warm up by Wednesday. So look for more sunshine and for temps to finally reach the 60s by the end of next week.

It appears as though much of the eastern U.S. is in for a dry April. The rain I mentioned earlier will be all the precipitation we’ll see for the next week or so. The air’s relative humidity will bottom out quickly behind the front arriving late Friday. So don’t expect to see the outdoor burning ban lifted anytime soon.


Impressive ash cloud from Iceland's volcano, Eyjafjallajokull which erupted Wednesday. The cloud which has disrupted 1,000s of flights worldwide is problematic because it could disrupt global weather, can cause respiratory problems and is unpredicatble.