Experimental...Fire Weather Planning Forecast for VA Natl Forests
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE Blacksburg VA
211 PM 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.

&&

VAZ007-010>014-018-022-023-WVZ044-230900-
JEFFERSON NATIONAL FOREST Eastern Divide Zone-
INCLUDING Blacksburg and New Castle
211 PM EST Thu Jan 22 2026

                      Tonight      Fri          Fri Night    Sat          

Cloud Cover           Mclear       Pcldy        Pcldy        Mcldy        
Precip Type           Frz Drzl     Frz Drzl     None         Snow         
Chance Precip (%)     0            0            0            70           
Chance of Thunder (%) 0            0            0            0            
Min/Max Temp          22           41           11           26           
Max/Min RH %          66           31           51           30           
Wind 20ft/early(mph)  Lgt/Var      Lgt/Var      NW  5 G22    Lgt/Var      
Wind 20ft/late(mph)   Lgt/Var      NW  6 G22    Lgt/Var      Lgt/Var      
Precip Amount         0.00         0.00         0.00         0.13         
Precip Duration                                              4            
Precip Begin                                                 7 AM         
Precip End                                                   Continuing   
Mixing Hgt(ft-agl)                 3330                      2630         
Transport Wnd (mph)                NW 15                     E  9         
Vent Rate (mph-ft)                 49950                     23670        
Dispersion            Very Poor                 Poor                      
Max ADI Early         5 Very Poor  20 Gen Poor  12 Poor      15 Gen Poor  
Max ADI Late          4 Very Poor  52 Gen Good  9 Poor       26 Fair      
Max LVORI Early       3            3            2            2            
Max LVORI Late        3            2            2            2            

Remarks...None.

.FORECAST FOR DAYS 3 THROUGH 7...
.SUNDAY...Freezing rain, snow and sleet. Lows around 14. Highs in
the upper 20s. Minimum RH 81 percent. Southeast winds 15 to
20 mph. 
.MONDAY...Freezing rain, snow and sleet. Lows around 14. Highs
around 19. Minimum RH 58 percent. Northwest winds 15 to 20 mph. 
.TUESDAY...Breezy. Mostly clear. Lows near zero. Highs in the
upper 20s. Minimum RH 47 percent. West winds 20 to 25 mph. 
.WEDNESDAY...Partly cloudy. Lows around 11. Highs around 30.
Minimum RH 53 percent. West winds 10 to 15 mph. 
.THURSDAY...Mostly cloudy. A chance of snow. Lows around 12.
Highs in the lower 20s. Minimum RH 57 percent. Northwest winds
10 to 15 mph. 

$$

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

$$