RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -Clear skies and brisk conditions are on the way to the area tonight.  Lows will be falling into the mid to upper 30s over the region.  In the cooler and sheltered locations off to the west of us, we could see some patchy frost developing.

Thursday will be very similar to today with mostly sunny skies and highs warming up into the upper 50s and the lower 60s.

Tomorrow night will be a few degrees warmer as we get a slow increase in clouds over the area.

Friday is when a major storm that will be coming out of the Plains will start to affect us here. This one will be very energetic and cause lots of problems in the middle of the country on Friday.  Northwest of the storm that will be an area of heavy snow.

On the east side of the system, we are expecting a significant outbreak of severe weather from Iowa down to the Gulf Coast. Strong damaging thunderstorms are going to be on tap.  Wind damage is likely from those that align into a solid line of storms. In the individual super-cell thunderstorms out ahead of the line is where you will find the tornado threat.  The locations for that will be clearer in about 24 hours.

For us, the winds will pick, up out of the south, clouds will increase, and we will warm into the lower 70s.

Showers will be approaching the area by Friday evening and will overspread the area.

Saturday is going to be a VIPIR Alert Day for the area.  Showers will move quickly through the area and the remains of a squall line pass out of the region by the middle of the day.

The alert is due to the wind potential.  Digging into the models, it looks like we have a very good chance of a wind event over much of the area.  That could lead to winds gusting to 40-50mph for us with higher gusts possible at elevation.

Wind gusts will start to pick up Friday evening with the approach of the first round of rain.

Then through Saturday afternoon we will have multiple rounds of strong and gusty winds coming through the area.  This could lead to downed tree branches and the potential for power outages over much of the state.

Sunday for the big NASCAR race, the weather should be mostly sunny and in the lower 60s.

Early next week is dry, with a chance of rain developing by the evening on Tuesday.

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