DATE: Thursday, February 27, 1997           TAG: 9702270513

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B4   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   46 lines

TODAY'S BALMY TEMPERATURES MAY REMIND YOU OF SUMMER

Forget spring. It's going to feel more like summer today.

If forecasts hold, we should see a high temperature somewhere in the low 80s - about 30 degrees above normal for this time of year. Temperatures should be only slightly cooler on the Outer Banks.

And while temperatures will moderate in the following days, they should remain well above normal through the weekend.

A warm front moved through North Carolina and into Virginia on Wednesday. It produced considerable cloudiness across the region and areas of light rain and drizzle in the late afternoon.

``A large temperature contrast existed from northwest to southeast because of the slow-moving front,'' said Rodney F. Gonski, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Raleigh, N.C. Temperatures topped off in the low 60s in Hampton Roads, while western sections of Virginia never got out of the 40s.

The high temperature Wednesday at the National Weather Service office at Norfolk International Airport was 63. The normal high for this time of year is 52.

The warm front was expected to continue moving north overnight. Meanwhile, a weak cold front is expected to stall over the mountains. Together, they will allow warm, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico to flow into our region.

As a result, cloudiness and a threat of showers will continue for a couple of days. Along the coast, small craft advisories are in effect, with southwest winds averaging 30 mph and occasionally gusting to 35 mph through tonight. Seas on the ocean will build to 6 to 8 feet, the Weather Service said.

Here's the Hampton Roads forecast:

Today - Partly sunny, windy and warm with a 30 percent chance of an afternoon shower or thunderstorm. The high should be in the lower 80s with south winds of 20 to 30 mph and gusty, shifting to southwest later in the day.

Tonight - Partly cloudy with a low in the 50s and winds becoming northwesterly at 15 mph.

Friday - Partly sunny and not quite as warm with a high around 60 and an overnight low in the 40s.

Saturday - Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers, a high in the 60s and a low in the 40s.

Sunday - A chance of showers early in the day, then partly cloudy, with a high near 60 and a low in the 40s.

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