Tornado watch in effect until 10 p.m., damaging winds possible

A tornado watch is now in effect for the entire region until 10 p.m.

Prince William, Stafford, and Spotsylvania counties are included in the watch area. The cities of Fredericksburg, Manassas, and Manassas Park are also included in the watch zone.

The National Weather Service states:

Over the next hour or two, we should see a ramp up of strong to severe thunderstorms along I-81 and north
of I-66 then immediately east closer to the metro area. Isolated supercells ahead of more organized convection could spawn a tornado or two.

If not tornadoes, watch out for damaging winds and heavy rainfall. These thunderstorms will linger into the early evening in the metro areas prior to pushing into southern
Maryland thereafter.

Although flooding concerns are low due to rapid movement of thunderstorms, a few thunderstorms could produce torrential rainfall that could lead to isolated incidences of flash flooding. The highest risk of encountering= damaging winds and/or tornado along with flooding rainfall would be northeast Maryland.

While temperatures will be in the upper 80s to lower 90s, the heat indices values could approach 100 degrees late this afternoon. Heat indices values could be closer to 105 in parts of east-central Virginia

Tonight should be fairly quiet, with lows in the 60s and 70s after the convection makes its way into the Delmarva area.

Here’s the forecast for the weekend from the National Weather Service:

Friday
A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Patchy fog before 7am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 87. Northwest wind 5 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Friday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 60. Northwest wind around 8 mph.

Saturday
Sunny, with a high near 80. North wind around 6 mph.

Saturday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 58.

Sunday
Sunny, with a high near 82.

Sunday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 62.