Kevin Myatt is The Roanoke Times' weather columnist.

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• UPDATE 6:30 AM, 5/23: More showers and storms on Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday; time to enter summer prediction contest
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During the next two to four hours a cluster of thunderstorms over eastern Kentucky and southern West Virginia will be moving through our area. These storms will pose a threat of scattered hail and some gusty surface winds. Ahead of these storms, scattered showers and thunderstorms are already developing. Lightning on Wednesday night may have contributed to a forest fire in Franklin County. Yet another danger of storms in the mountains.

With the setting of the sun and the passage of a slow-moving front just to our north now, the thunderstorm threat will ease overnight. But we may do it all over again Friday night and Saturday. And that snow threat for Saturday night and Sunday still looks bizarrely real, especially over the highest mountaintops.

A "backdoor" cold front will be sliding southward down through our area this afternoon, colliding with all this summerlike warmth we've been having. The result could be some strong thunderstorms. It's still quite cold a couple of miles above the surface, so hail is our biggest threat. A few bursts of strong wind may also occur where this cool air aloft is forced downward through the warmer air at the surface.

We're going to have a very unsettled weekend, with another threat of storms by Friday night and Saturday. Today's front will turn around and goes back north over us as a warm front on Friday. Then, a cold front and strong low pressure system will approach from the west Friday night and Saturday.

Then comes Saturday night and Sunday. Cold air rushes in -- I mean winterlike cold air, 30s in most places, some 20s at higher elevations. Moisture hangs around. Many of you will likely see some snow. That's right, snow. I wouldn't even rule out a few flakes making it into the Roanoke Valley, with temperatures maybe in the mid 30s. The high sun angle and long days will warm things up to turn nearly everything to rain in daylight hours. Any accumulations would be confined to higher elevations.