
DATE: Thursday, October 23, 1997            TAG: 9710230535

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B4   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   46 lines

SOME FROST POSSIBLE AS FALL'S CHILL MOVES INTO HAMPTON ROADS

Last week brought Hampton Roads the look of fall. Today and tonight will bring the feel.

Some early risers may even find frost on their pumpkins.

Cold Arctic air is pouring into the mid-Atlantic region, the National Weather Service said Wednesday. Temperatures could dip to near freezing in Suffolk, Isle of Wight County and Williamsburg.

Scattered frost is possible in those areas, although a widespread frost is not expected. Further inland, however, toward Richmond and further west, a freeze warning was raised Wednesday night. Much of interior North Carolina also is under a freeze warning.

Light winds out of the north, blowing over the much warmer waters of the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, should insulate much of Hampton Roads. Temperatures should remain in the mid- to upper 30s, and even the low 40s at the shore.

A cold front moved across Virginia and North Carolina on Wednesday, pushing drizzly weather out to sea. Behind the front, a large high pressure area is building.

Winds around the high, blowing out of the north, will usher in the Arctic air. This, combined with cooling allowed by clear skies overnight, will bring temperatures down still further before dawn. The Blue Ridge mountains will experience a hard freeze that will kill any remaining agricultural vegetation, the Weather Service said. To the east, temperatures will range from the mid-30s to mid-40s. Any place with a low in the mid 30s may experience scattered light frost. ILLUSTRATION: FORECAST

Here is the Hampton Roads forecast:

Today - Sunny and cool with a high in the mid-50s and north winds

at 10 mph.

Tonight - Clear with scattered frost, especially well inland. The

low will be in the mid to upper 30s with light winds.

Friday - Increasing cloudiness with a high in the lower 60s and

an overnight low in the 30s.

Saturday - A chance of rain with a high in the 60s and a low in

the 40s.

Sunday - A chance of showers with a high in the upper 50s and 60s

and a low in the upper 40s and 50s.