The Charleston Gazette

Not As Wet Today But Some Spotty Showers, Drizzle and Clouds Hang Around...

The remnants of Tropical Storm Fay brought a healthy dose of rain for our area on Wednesday, with many locations picking up between 1 to 2 inches. Today won't be nearly as wet but we'll still deal with passing light showers and drizzle. The center of what was Fay is now moving off to our east, taking the heavy, steadier rains along with it but a trailing piece of upper level energy will be moving in here from the Ohio Valley. The rain will be more of a nuisance than anything else, and some spots will even end up dry but keep an umbrella nearby just in case. Clouds will be stubborn and we think most of West Virginia will have a tough time breaking into sunshine. Farther west in southern Ohio and eastern Kentucky a better chance for a brightening sky exists. Temperatures should be a little warmer today...yesterday's rains held us to around 70 degrees. Today we expect around 77 for the high temperature.

Spotty showers will remain possible tonight, especially in the evening. While we think the Capital/G.W. High School football game will likely be dry we can't rule out a little light rain at some point so bring the umbrella. Gametime temperatures will be between 70 to 75. Overnight we'll fall to a low of 62 with some patchy fog. Friday has better sun potential as we await the arrival of a cold front. With much more sun temperatures will warm back into the 80s as winds turn into the south. We'll hit around 87 degrees in the afternoon. Much of the day will be dry but as we head toward sundown some scattered thunderstorms will develop as that front begins to move in. That means an umbrella will be needed for the beginning of the High School Football season just in case one of those showers moves through your game.

We still think a shower or two and some clouds will hang around into Saturday morning but that front should get a push off to our east by Noon. The afternoon on Saturday will feature sunshine and very pleasant weather as the humidity drops off. We'll warm to a high of 83. 83 will be the kickoff temp for the Marshall game while WVU's kickoff in Morgantown should have gametime temperatures in the upper 70s. Not a bad way to start the season...hopefully wins will cap off a great weather day! Sunday and Labor Monday still look fantastic. High pressure will build to our north, providing plenty of sunshine and warm but not uncomfortable temperatures. We'll reach a high of 86 on Sunday and 88 on Monday...offering a great chance to hit the pools before they close. Tuesday and Wednesday look a little hot as sunshine continues to go strong with that high in control.

Beyond that we'll be watching two tropical systems. One is Gustav, currently near Jamaica. This will track into the Gulf of Mexico this weekend and will hit somewhere along the Gulf Coast by late Monday or Tuesday. The other system is not named yet but will become Hanna...this will be working into the Bahamas by early next week and could threaten the Eastern U.S. The tropics are very busy and unfortunately there could be a lot of impact from these storms over the next week and a half. Whether we see anything from either one will depend on their track. We'll keep you updated.

The remains of former Tropical Storm Fay brought cloudy skies and some much anticipated rainfall to the region. Most areas picked up at least an inch of rain as the slow moving storm is taking its time heading to the north. The storm has lost much of the moisture that brought very heavy rains to the south, but there was certainly enough to go around our rain starved region. The clouds and showers kept the high temperatures well below normal, with both Charleston and Huntington making it to only 70 degrees for the afternoon high temperature. Showers will be lingering through much of Thursday although they will be scattered in nature. We could pick up another half inch of rain before skies start to clear late Thursday afternoon.

Wednesday night will be cloudy with scattered showers. The overnight low temperature will stay at a warm 66 degrees because of the clouds and rainfall. Thursday will be mostly cloudy with showers scattered around the region. We won't be dealing with a steady rainfall like we saw most of Wednesday, these will be of the hit and miss variety. The sun will peek out late in the day and the high will reach 77 degrees. Conditions should be pretty mild for the start of the high school football season as Capital takes on George Washington in Charleston Thursday night. Friday will start out with partly cloudy skies but an approaching cold front will bring showers and possibly a storm late in the day. The high temperature will make it up to 87 degrees. I am only expecting a tenth to a quarter inch of rainfall from the front.

The showers will linger into early Saturday morning but should be tapering off by the time most people get out and about. Skies will start to clear and the temperature will manage to make it up to 83 degrees as sunshine prevails, but there will be some cooler air coming in behind the front. The start of the college football season should be great in Morgantown and Huntington for the Mountaineers and Thundering Herd as both games will start in the afternoon. Sunday will be mostly sunny and very pleasant with the mercury climbing to 86 degrees. Labor Day Monday will also be mostly sunny and very warm, with the mercury making it all the way to 88 degrees. Overall, it should be a great holiday weekend for getting outside.

Tuesday will see the sunshine continue, with the afternoon high making it to 90 degrees. Another cold front will move into the area on Wednesday which will mean mostly cloudy skies along with afternoon showers and possibly storms. the high temperature will be 86 degrees. Skies will stay mostly cloudy on Thursday with the temperature dipping to 85 degrees. Friday will be partly cloudy and warmer with the high temperature reaching a warm 86 degrees, and next Saturday looks to be mostly sunny with the high temperature coming in at a toasty 88 degrees.

One Final Note: Charleston picked up .95" today, making it the most rainfall in any one day since July 9th when we received 1.16". The .13" that fell before midnight makes the storm total so far 1.08".

--Douglass Harlow
8/28/08

CHARLESTON AREA
7 DAY E X T E N D E D FORECAST

TODAY
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