New Tornado Watch Issued For Wednesday Afternoon

A Tornado Watch is in effect for most of central Virginia until 8 p.m. as a strong cold front advances into the area from the west. Ahead of the front, our atmosphere is ripe for thunderstorm development with unseasonably warm afternoon heating into the 80s, rich low-level moisture, ample lift from the approaching cold front, and wind shear. All of these factors are creating an environment conducive to severe thunderstorms with damaging wind gusts to 70 mph, isolated tornadoes, large hail up to an inch in diameter, frequent lightning, and torrential downpours. Our threat will likely continue beyond 8 p.m. into the early morning hours Thursday. We'll be in the clear once the cold front passes into far southeast Virginia by mid-morning. Until then, we'll be monitoring the severe threat round the clock. Stay with CBS6, we'll keep you ahead of the storm.