Afternoon thunderstorms: A familiar pattern begins
Posted Apr25, 2008 at 04:41 PM
It's that time of year again. The warm months around here frequently feature scattered afternoon thunderstorms that pop up with the day's heating and then disappear when the sun sets. The mountains can enhance storm development with the difference in temperature between ridges and valleys and also any "upslope" flow that may develop. A weak disturbance moving through the atmosphere has allowed
a few storms to pop up around the area this afternoon, including one just west of Roanoke. The inset photo (
larger version here) was taken looking northwest from the Roanoke Times roof garden, showing rain streaks blowing outward from storm clouds near Catawba. That indicates at least some outflow winds. You can never rule out isolated strong winds or small hail in storms like this. Any severe weather (58 mph-plus winds, 3/4 inch hail) would be very brief and local, and probably not existent at all. For the most part, these storms will provide a quick burst of rain and a few tree-rustling gusts, then dissipate. More organized storminess may occur over the weekend into Monday with a couple of fronts moving through. But this will get to be a redundant pattern if our summer is like most.
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