With temperatures at 54 degrees at 10:30 a.m. Sunday and highs projected to be around 65 later in the afternoon, the grand thaw from the massive winter storm that buried Floyd County in up to 30 inches of snow continues to melt away the remnants and bring out Spring Fever.

That fever, however, will be short lived as the thermometer starts heading south in the coming week and another blast of colder air appears headed into the region.

But earlier forecasts of frigid cold and possible heavy snow are dissipating and the outlook for the rest of February now claims nights below freezing but daytime temperatures mostlky in the 40s and 50s with the exception of Wednesday, when a high of just 34 and a low of 16 is the current prediction.

As has happened all winter, however, the forecasts are subject to change and usually do.  At the moment, March is predicted arrive with a low overnight Friday of 23 and a high on Saturday of 47, then drop to 14 overnight and rise to just 37 on Sunday.  The first full week of March has some rain and snow in the forecast but no threats, yet, of a massive winter storm.

Writes Kevin Myatt at The Roanoke Times:

There will be rumors of “big storms” on the horizon off and on for the next couple of weeks — a “big storm” is possible during this timeframe, but small-medium systems are more likely.  There’s no guarantee of any winter storms at all, but the frequency of systems and availability of cold air certainly make it seem probable that there will be at least some snow and/or ice in Southwest Virginia over the next 2 weeks.

Which of course, won’t make the doomsday bunch happy, but little does.