Spot Forecast
Issued by NWS Charleston, WV
Issued by NWS Charleston, WV
959
FNUS71 KRLX 161610
FWSRLX
Spot Forecast for Sophia Tunnel Fire...Raleigh County Emergency Management
National Weather Service Charleston WV
1210 PM EDT Wed Sep 16 2026
Forecast is based on forecast start time of 1200 EDT on September 16.
If conditions become unrepresentative, contact the National Weather
Service.
.DISCUSSION...
Hot temperatures are expected this afternoon, with calm winds that
will gradually transition from the northwest to the north by 2 PM
EDT and eventually the east by sunset. Mixing heights will peak at
around 3,500 ft AGL, with calm-to-light transport winds that will
also transition directionally in tandem with surface winds. The
light surface and transport winds are due to a high pressure system
lingering nearby to the south of the State of WV. Following sunset,
mixing heights will lower substantially once again, resulting in
very poor ventilation of the plume tonight and through Thursday
morning. Surface and transport winds will remain calm overnight,
with winds transitioning towards the by midnight EDT and towards the
west after sunrise Thursday. Thunderstorms are not forecast today
for the burn area; however, chances for showers and storms will
begin to increase by late Thursday morning. The potential for storms
will peak during the afternoon hours Thursday, with heavy rain
possible. Prevailing surface and transport winds will remain light
Thursday afternoon outside of any storms, with the wind direction
becoming northwest once again in the afternoon. Otherwise, the
development of fog will be possible in the vicinity of the fire
during the predawn hours Thursday.
.REST OF TODAY...
Sky/weather.........Sunny (15-25 percent).
Chance of pcpn......0 percent.
Chance of thunder...1 percent.
Max temperature.....Around 86.
Min humidity........54 percent.
Surface winds (mph).Light winds becoming north around 6 mph early
in the afternoon, then becoming light late in
the afternoon.
Transport winds.....Northwest 3 to 6 mph shifting to the north 5 to
6 mph late in the afternoon.
TIME (EDT) 12P 1PM 2PM 3PM 4PM 5PM
Sky (%).........14 19 26 29 24 28
Weather cov.....
Weather type....
Tstm cov........
Chc of pcpn (%).0 0 0 0 0 0
Chc of thdr (%).0 0 0 0 0 0
Temp............80 82 84 85 85 85
RH..............66 61 57 55 54 55
Surface wnd dir.NW NW N N N N
Surface wnd spd.4 6 6 5 5 4
Surface wnd gst.7 8 8 7 6 6
Transp wind dir.NW NW N N N N
Transp wind spd.3 5 6 6 6 5
.TONIGHT...
Sky/weather.........Mostly clear (15-25 percent).
Chance of pcpn......0 percent.
Chance of thunder...1 percent.
Min temperature.....Around 65.
Max humidity........90 percent.
Surface winds (mph).Light winds.
Transport winds.....Northeast 2 to 3 mph shifting to the south
around 2 mph late in the evening.
TIME (EDT) 6PM 7PM 8PM 9PM 10P 11P MID 1AM 2AM 3AM 4AM 5AM
Sky (%).........20 16 13 21 26 22 19 16 15 20 27 24
Weather cov.....
Weather type....
Tstm cov........
Chc of pcpn (%).0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Chc of thdr (%).0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Temp............83 80 74 72 71 70 69 68 68 67 67 67
RH..............60 66 77 84 87 85 87 88 87 88 89 88
Surface wnd dir.N N E E SE SE S S S S S S
Surface wnd spd.4 3 3 1 3 3 4 3 3 3 3 3
Surface wnd gst.5 5 6 6 6 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
Transp wind dir.N NE E E SE SE S S S S S S
Transp wind spd.3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
.THURSDAY...
Sky/weather.........Mostly sunny (40-50 percent). Chance of showers
through the day. Slight chance of thunderstorms
in the afternoon.
Chance of pcpn......40 percent.
Chance of thunder...21 percent.
Max temperature.....Around 85.
Min humidity........61 percent.
Surface winds (mph).Light winds becoming northwest around 6 mph in
the afternoon.
Transport winds.....South around 2 mph shifting to the northwest
late in the afternoon.
TIME (EDT) 6AM 7AM 8AM 9AM 10A 11A 12P 1PM 2PM 3PM 4PM 5PM
Sky (%).........33 39 26 28 51 53 46 39 47 55 59 64
Weather cov..... CHC CHC SCH SCH CHC CHC SCH
Weather type.... RW RW RW RW RW RW RW
Tstm cov........ SCH SCH SCH SCH
Chc of pcpn (%).0 0 10 10 30 30 20 10 20 30 40 20
Chc of thdr (%).0 0 10 10 10 10 10 10 20 20 20 20
Temp............66 66 67 70 76 79 81 82 82 84 82 82
RH..............90 89 90 88 78 70 66 65 64 61 64 65
Surface wnd dir.S S S SW W W W NW NW NW NW NW
Surface wnd spd.3 3 3 3 3 4 5 6 6 6 6 6
Surface wnd gst.7 6 7 7 7 9 10 12 12 12 12 10
Transp wind dir.S S S SW W W W W NW NW NW NW
Transp wind spd.2 2 2 2 2 3 5 7 8 8 7 6
$$
Forecaster...SINCAVAGE
Requested by...John Zilinski
Type of request...HAZMAT
.TAG 2622002.0/RLX
.DELDT 09/16/26
.FormatterVersion 2.0.0
.EMAIL tabitha.horn@raleigh911.org,john.zilinski@raleigh911.org