weekly weather report kickoff week

Well it's that time of the year again, every Hokie's favorite time of the year. Football season is a mere four days away and people all over are preparing their tailgates and traveling arrangements to the wonderful southwest corner of Virginia, a place we call home. As is the case every week during football season (and occasionally during the offseason during MASSIVE snowstorms) I like to call in the all-important wild card, mother nature.

Mother nature can do funny things to sporting events. Whether its team USA playing in a damn blizzard for qualifying games or our football team playing in hurricanes, they can lead to some of the most memorable games with some of the most memorable moments. Just ask Lee Corso how destructive weather in general can be, after his car was struck by lightning for not picking our beloved Hokies.

Last year we were very fortunate in the weather department, being delivered 5 sunny and beautiful game days and one absolutely epic slugfest with Marshall in a torrential downpour.

We had it all last season, and avoided a snow covered game thank goodness! Mother nature continued to favor us, giving us a pretty nice day for the spring game and I think that bodes well for this coming season! As I give the forecast for this coming week I'm thrilled to have wonderful news! For those of you who don't want to know the science behind it, I'll cut to the chase. We're looking at a glorious day Saturday afternoon and evening, particularly in southwest Virginia. In spite of a bit of a front coming across the Midwest, coupling with some moisture from the gulf, we are fortunate enough to have a high pressure system floating over North Carolina/Southwest Virginia, that is seriously just hanging out for about 4 days. Should the models hold true (which might not happen being 4 days out) , I'd expect precipitation pretty much all over the Midwest and some more in south of South Carolina as we progress into the evening, but in VA, we should be able to look forward to some very calm winds and mild temperatures. There's a very slight chance of thunderstorms if the front moves quicker than expected but I wouldn't hold my breath.

A fair estimation of weekend conditions from myself would probably read this High of 82 degrees Low of 64 in the evening. Very slight chance of precipitation (20% - and when meteorologists say this it's typically to cover their bums). Winds of maybe 4-5 MPH coming from the south-southwest (so blowing towards the North Endzone, and maybe the East Stands a bit). Do expect some clouds (so hopefully minimal sunburn), and relative humidity should hover somewhere around 74%. It'll be a gorgeous day to both watch VT kick off the season, and UVA's season to begin its annual tail-spin.

How this all plays out on the field -

William and Mary looks to replace their starting QB as well this year, and with the VT defense looming on the schedule he can't be excited. If I'm William & Mary's coach I'm going to come out running and playing clock control to keep my team in the game as long as I can. The longer they're in the game, the longer VTs team and fans will get nervous and that's when mistakes happen. On the defensive side of the field I'd expect them to send numerous blitzers in an attempt to rattle Brewer and force some mistakes that can be translated into points. With the weather being a mild as it is, expect players to be fresh even later on in the game. That being said, I think... I hope... Virginia Tech is vastly more talented on both sides of the ball, mother nature can only play out in William & Mary's favor should inclement weather become a factor and add an extra element to the game. Due to it holding off until early next week I'd say that's a slight win for us.

Final predictions
VT 31
W&M 7
Daily High 83
Daily Low 64

Winds southerly winds heading north northwest at 5ish mph. Partly cloudy. A little humid.

LETS GO HOKIES!!!!!!!!