It took a hurricane to bring needed wet weather to Southwestern Virginia this weekend with a soaking rain relieving the dry conditions starting Saturday night and into Sunday.

Hurricane Nate swept through the area at a rapid (for hurricanes) 28 miles per hour with its heaviest downpours Sunday evening, along with gusting winds up to 40 miles per hour, dropping up to three inches along the crest of the Blue Ridge before continuing northeast up into Pennsylvania.

A wind advisory should end by noon on Monday, along with the rain for the rest of the day but thunderstorms remain in the forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday with high temperatures in the upper 70s for Monday, the mid 70s for Tuesday and then slightly lower by mid-week.

In our area, we’re getting sorely needed rain and we can thank a hurricane for it.