Potential Significant Winter Storm this Weekend - Very Cold Weather Follows Early Next Week

A significant winter storm will likely impact our area this weekend. The winter storm will be followed by very cold temperatures early next week. Read More >

Fire Weather Forecast Banner for Roanoke County

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FNUS51 KRNK 221113
FWFRNK

Fire Weather Planning Forecast for SW VA...SE WV and NW NC
National Weather Service Blacksburg VA
613 AM EST Thu Jan 22 2026

.DISCUSSION... 
...Winter Storm Watch Areawide For This Weekend...

Both today and Friday may offer windows of opportunity for burn
prep or small project burns. Friday may be a good day for pile
burns ahead of this weekends winter storm. 

For today, expecting a slight uptick in humidity compared to 
yesterday, but overall expecting another dry day with minimum Rh 
this afternoon back down close to 25 percent in some areas. Any 
clouds this morning should give way to an abundance of sunshine
this afternoon along with westerly winds which will be gusty at 
times...especially over the ridge crests. Winds will subside at 
sunset. 

For Friday clouds will be on the increase with potential of light
precip. In spite of the shading and increasing humidity, larger 
fuels will lag with respect to moisture recovery. 

The weekend is a show stopper for burning. Heavy wintry 
precipitation is forecast. There is potential for 1-2 inches of 
liquid equivalent precipitation...a drought buster. If it all
falls as snow and or sleet it will significantly compact fine
fuels. It is also not expected to melt very quickly with
temperatures remaining below freezing for the remainder
of the month.

&&

VAZ022-222115-
Roanoke-
Including the cities of Roanoke and Salem
613 AM EST Thu Jan 22 2026

                      Today        Tonight      Fri          

Cloud Cover           Mclear       Pcldy        Mcldy        
Precip Type           None         None         None         
Chance Precip (%)     0            0            0            
Chance of Thunder (%) 0            0            0            
Max/Min Temp          51           26           45           
Min/Max RH %          29           59           26           
Wind 20ft/early(mph)  W  8 G23     W  4         W  5 G18     
Wind 20ft/late(mph)   W  8 G22     W  3         NW  8 G20    
Precip Amount         0.00         0.00         0.00         
Precip Duration                                              
Precip Begin                                                 
Precip End                                                   
Mixing Hgt(ft-agl)    4080                      3940         
Transport Wnd (mph)   W 21                      NW 22        
Vent Rate (mph-ft)    85680                     86680        
Dispersion                         Poor                      
Max ADI Early         70 Good      4 Very Poor  24 Fair      
Max ADI Late          71 Good      2 Very Poor  58 Gen Good  
Max LVORI Early       4            2            3            
Max LVORI Late        2            3            2            

Remarks...None.

.FORECAST FOR DAYS 3 THROUGH 7...
.SATURDAY...Mostly cloudy with snow likely. Lows around 18. Highs
in the lower 20s. Minimum RH 36 percent. East winds 10 to 15 mph.
.SUNDAY...Freezing rain and snow or sleet. Lows around 13. Highs
in the mid 20s. Minimum RH 80 percent. Northeast winds 10 to
15 mph. 
.MONDAY...Mostly cloudy. A chance of snow and a slight chance of
freezing rain. Lows around 17. Highs in the mid 20s. Minimum RH
54 percent. Northwest winds 10 to 15 mph. 
.TUESDAY...Mostly clear. Lows around 4. Highs around 30. Minimum
RH 47 percent. West winds 10 to 15 mph. 
.WEDNESDAY...Mostly cloudy. Lows around 13. Highs in the lower
30s. Minimum RH 56 percent. West winds 5 to 10 mph.

.OUTLOOK 8 TO 14 DAYS...
Temperatures below normal.  Precipitation below normal.

Radar