Today is the window. Mostly sunny, high near 85, a light west wind — a proper late-April afternoon, the kind you take advantage of when you've already seen the Saturday forecast. Rain and thunderstorms move in before lunch tomorrow, hold through the night, and wring out most of what the weekend had in mind. Chance of precipitation sits at 90 percent.
If there's a hike, a bike loop, or a Parkway run on your list, today is the day. The Mill Mountain Star trail is dry, the Roanoke River Greenway is fully leafed in, and the overlooks off the Parkway are open and quiet on a weekday afternoon. Sunday eases back into the upper 60s with only a thirty-percent chance of showers, and Monday is sunny and calmer at 73 — so there's a recovery window if you miss today.
The calendar's thin. Mill Mountain Theatre's Mainstage run of Madagascar Jr. doesn't start until Wednesday, and Big Lick Brewing's event board is empty for the week. The Taubman Museum is open today (free general admission, until 5) and fills up on Saturday — a Happy HeARTs community session at 10, a Paint-Your-Pet kit pickup, and a one-hour “Both Sides of the Track” architecture walk at 1 — the kind of plan we'd probably reschedule ourselves, given what the sky has coming.
For the rest of today: RND Coffee around the corner for a slow start, Martin's patio catching the afternoon sun, and A Few Old Goats downstairs with the roll-up door almost certainly open while the weather holds. Back tomorrow with whatever makes it through the rain.