Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

This could be a problem. That’s how officials from the National Weather Service (NWS) summed things up early Monday, when talking about the forecast. The concern for Buckingham, Cumberland and Prince Edward counties involves a series of severe storms which might roll through late Monday afternoon through Monday night. That’s the frustrating part for forecasters. These storms aren’t guaranteed to arrive at all. But the potential strength of each means the possibility can’t be ignored either. 

“The main story will be the threat of severe thunderstorms Monday afternoon and evening as a cold front drops south through the area,” NWS officials said in a statement. “Thunderstorms will develop over central Virginia by mid afternoon on Monday, then move south and southeast through the early evening hours before dissipating.” 

Now ok, severe storms can mean a lot of things, so the NWS staff wanted to be clear. The storms they’re forecasting could produce wind gusts of 50 to 70 mph. For those wondering, winds are considered hurricane strength once they hit 74 mph. Large hail of 1 to 1.5 inch in diameter is also possible. In other words, be prepared for the lights to possibly go out. 

“Wind gusts could damage trees and power lines and result in scattered power outages,” the NWS officials said. 

When reached Sunday, several of the power companies in our area said they were monitoring the situation and would have work crews ready to respond if needed. 

So when could these storms roll through? That’s the part still unclear. Forecasters say they could pop up anytime between 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.