URGENT

Tornado Watch, outlined in RED is in effect until 10 PM this evening for the entire Eastern Panhandle, east to the Chesapeake & to the southern edge of North Carolina. At SEPERATE tornado watch is in effect for much of the northeast, including parts of northern West Virginia and most of Pennsylvania. Stay tuned to local news, FM radio or NWS weather radio on frequencies 162.400-162.550 MHz for more information!! Maintain awareness of surroundings and take shelter is necessary!! Click the NWS icon at the right for more current advisory info!!

Warm front finally lifts north of the area today. Winds out of the south bring above average temperatures for the first half of this week. Plenty of midday sunshine will help dry things out after that soggy weekend. Highs today will be in the low 80s! For the rest of today, look for breezy conditions & a sun/cloud mix. A few short-lived thunderstorms will develop this afternoon/evening, especially in the mountain counties. Skies will become mostly cloudy in the overnight hours. But most of the lowlands will manage to stay dry through tonight. Look for lows tonight around 60. High water problems still a possibility in some places, especially along the Ohio River.

More unsettled weather is in store Tuesday through Thursday. A series of upper level disturbances ride along a deep upper air trough that cuts as far south as the lower Mississippi Valley. This will usher in more potentially heavy rain and occasional thunderstorms as we trudge through this last week of April.

The timing and track of these disturbances still needs sharpening but will go something like this...Tuesday we'll see a high of 81. We'll see a few peaks of sunshine during the day. Afternoon showers and thunderstorms will develop with that first impulse. This system could produce heavy downpours, bringing about more flooding/flash flooding problems.

The next system will affect mainly the western portions of our state. Again, this system would produce another round of potentially heavy rain & occasional thunderstorms & compound existing high water problems along the Ohio River.

By Wednesday/ Wednesday night, a cold front will bring a juicy dose of heavy rain showers and thunderstorms. That system will track from the Southern Plains, through the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley & Mid-Atlantic states, eventually continuing northeast up the coast. Of course it will be accompanied by the obligatory heavy rain, hail, thunder/lightning, potentially damaging wind and a few tornado outbreaks.

Cooler temperatures behind that front will put daytime highs on Thursday in the lower 60s. We'll also see a few leftover rain showers during the day Thursday & even into early Friday. We'll finish out the work week on the cool side, with temperatures in the upper 50s. Naturally, any additional rainfall could bring flash flooding to the forecast area again.

Warmer air and sunshine Saturday should prevent this week from being a total loss. Then the next system will arrive by Sunday/Monday!

Cooler air by Thursday

Warm front lifting north today brings widespread on/off rain showers to the area. Flash flood watches for all counties north of RT 33 are in effect from now until Saturday afternoon. The entire Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia is under a flood watch through Saturday.

Temperatures hold steady in the upper 50s today. However, the focus will remain on flooding concerns, especially for waterways that are still swollen from recent rain. The threat for thunder & lightning will hold off until warmer air moves in early Saturday. We'll stick with just periodic rain showers through tonight. Lows will right around 50.

For Saturday...system will stall over the northern zones. Expect widespread rain to the north with chance of thunderstorms as the day progresses. Two to threes inches of additional rainfall are expected over the Easter weekend. So it looks like we could be bobbing for Easter eggs! Further south, more sunshine is expected and so more thunder/lightning and widespread instability has been forecast. At least temperatures will be on the increase this weekend. Look for daytime highs very close 80 degrees. Overnight lows will be in the upper 50s.

To our west, southern Ohio, northern Kentucky, southern Indiana & Illinois & Missouri will take it on the chin over the weekend! HPC has been spitting out graphics like the one pictured above for the past several days. 3.5 to 5 inches of additional rainfall over the next couple of days.

Don't put that umbrella away! The low pressure system will finally lift north on Monday. But we'll keep a few leftover light rain showers for the first part of next week. Temperatures in the 80s are on tap for the first part of next week. More severe weather will arrive next Wednesday & Thursday.

Here's a look at the most up-to-date flash flood watch. There's a tornado warning down around Morehead, KY!

We get a break from the rain as the passing of that cold front sets the stage for high pressure and cooler temperatures into Thursday. Look for lows tonight will be in the upper 30s/low 40s under mostly clear skies. We'll keep the breezy ridge tops in the forecast this evening. Winds will die down overnight & fog will be allowed to develop in the early morning Thursday. Otherwise...

Sunshine is the headline for Thursday. Forecast will stay dry with temperatures struggling to hit 60. Lows Thursday night will be in the low 40s.

Warm front will lift north after midnight Thursday night bringing overcast skies & a few light sprinkles back to the area Friday. Temperatures during the day Friday will stay mild, in the upper 50s.

Another low pressure cold front out of the Central Plains will cross the Great Lakes Saturday. This will raise more high water flags across a large portion of our forecast area this weekend. The low pressure will draw plenty of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico & could dump 1.5-2" of additional rainfall to the Mountain State. Warmer air temperatures will ride into the region on southwest winds ahead of the front Friday night. Weekend highs will top out in the mid to upper 70s. These ingredients could combine to produce more severe weather with the potential for heavy downpours, damaging winds, hail, lightning and tornadoes.

Folks from the Central & Southern Plains all the way through the Ohio Valley & Appalachians will need to watch for severe weather alerts AND flood warnings this Easter weekend. Drier with warmer temperatures are eventually on tap as we start the last week of April.

Texans pray for rain, wildfires still rage...Meanwhile, rain showers pull out this evening but water levels across much of the area continue to rise. The mountain counties will have widespread high water problems. Flash flood watches and flood warnings are set to expire overnight. However, with repeated downpours many locations will see flood warnings being reissued tonight & early tomorrow morning. Warm air and a few stubborn clouds will linger in the area keeping overnight lows in the upper 50s. Forecast will stay dry tonight but we'll need to keep the rain gear handy.


We'll start Wednesday with patchy fog and temperatures in the 60s. Southwest winds will continue to bring plenty of warm air into the region as the day progesses Wednesday. Tempereatures could reach the low 80s! Leftover convection will redevelop during the day and we'll see another round of rain showers with occasional thunderstorms. Flooding problems are also a strong possibility, especially for areas that received a good soaking today. Damaging wind gusts will also reemerge during the day Wednesday.


Northwest winds & cooler air on the backside of the frontal system will put overnight lows in the lower 40s Wednesday night/Thursday morning. Otherwise, high pressure will take over sometime Wednesday night. This will allow for clearing skies late Wednesday.

We've got mostly sunny skies & highs around 60 during the day Thursday. A warm front & a few light sprinkles will lift north with a warm front on Friday. Cold front with more unsettled weather will arrive Saturday. We'll keep chance rain showers & thunderstorms this weekend. Temperatures will stay mild over the weekend with warmer temps on tap Monday.

Still breezy with moderate fire threat...Warm air lifts north today as a weak upper air disturbance exits to the northeast. Temperatures fall into the upper 40s tonight as another strong low pressure system gathers steam & crosses the Ohio Valley. Isoalted rain showers and thunderstorms will are possible tonight, into Tuesday.

Steady southwest air flow ahead of the front will put daytime highs in the lower 70s Tuesday. Chance for rain and a few rumbles of thunder will continue early Tuesday morning. However, we're not expecting much in the way of significant rainfall with that initial push Tuesday. Temperatures stay mild Tuesday night, in the low 50s.

Actual front will arrive during the day Wednesday. Breezy conditions will redevelop Wednesday as the pressure gradient tightens with the approaching front. Temperatures top out in the low 80s. Still not impressed with overall dynamics of Wednesday weather. However, we cannot rule out significant downpours in a few localized areas. Any areas that received significant rainfall on Tuesday would need to watch for flash flooding problems during the day Wednesday. Up to an inch of new rainfall could occur before things clear up. However, flooding will most likely plaque parts of  western IL, IN, OH, KY & TN during this unsettled week of weather.

Cool air will sink into the area behind the front as high pressure builds into the area Wednesday night. This will drop temperatures into the mid to upper 40s under clearing skies Wednesday night.

The setup for Thursday will be sunny and tranquil with temps hitting the low 60s. Warm front Friday could bring a few sprinkles. Cold front & chance for more thunder arrives Saturday.

Severe weather took the lives of 41 people across the southeastern US this weekend. Over a hundred tornado reports account for countless downed trees, thousands of people without power, hundreds of homes and buildings damaged or destroyed. NWS will be conducting a damage assessment across the south today & new information will be available soon on what is sure to be a historic tornado outbreak.

Across West Virginia, rain has subsided but still chilly & breezy conditions prevail on this Palm Sunday morning. Warmer air will lift north, allowing temps in the low 60s with a few peaks of sunshine later today. Temps tonight will stay in the low 40s. Another quick short wave disturbance will bring weak instability to the Ohio Valley & Great Lakes late Sunday into Monday. This will combine with slightly warmer temperatures in the mid to upper 60s to produce scattered rain showers and a few isolated thunderstorms across Ohio and West Virginia late tonight/Monday.

Better chance for more widespread thunderstorms and another good soaking will arrive Tuesday AND Wednesday as another low pressure center and cold front swings east across the Midwest and into the Mid-Atlantic states. Lots of warm air will lift north ahead of the front putting temperatures in the 70s & 80s Tuesday & Wednesday. This makes our best chance for severe weather Wednesday as more moderate instability develops.

High pressure with cooler air & more tranquil weather is on tap for Thursday.