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Making weekend plans? Read this

Posted at 5:37 PM, Apr 20, 2012
and last updated 2012-04-20 17:41:47-04

Spring weekends in Hampton Roads are filled with festivals and bike rides and  soccer games.  And this weekend the rain gauge will be filled as well.  But here’s the good news: it looks like a big chunk of Saturday will be dry.  Ahead of our main storm system, we expect a cold front to push through in the afternoon.  That could spark a few afternoon showers and storms.  Here’s a look at our hour-by-hour rainfall forecast for Saturday.

By late Saturday evening, things will go downhill.  As an area of low pressure moves up the coast we’ll see rain moving in and winds picking up.  Expect wind gusts on Sunday from the north at 35-40 mph.

It looks like the storm system will stay over land, meaning the heaviest rain should be in inland portions of Hampton Roads.  How much rain are we talking about?  Here’s a look at our current VIPIRcast rain forecast.

If the storm systems shifts back east, those heaviest totals would be over the metro areas of Hampton Roads.  If it shifts more to the west, the totals could be a bit lower.  But right now, it looks like we’ll see widespread rain totals of one to two inches with three inches possible in a few communities.

Bottom line: make those outdoor plans for Saturday and not Sunday.  And early on Saturday is looking better than later.

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Patrick Rockey
NewsChannel 3 Chief Meteorologist