Something in the Water will have ‘widespread’ rain on first day, but Saturday will be dry, weather service says

The updated weather forecasts for this weekend call for a wet opening day for Something in the Water, with more rain possible during Sunday’s finale.

The National Weather Service office in Wakefield increased its prediction for the chance of rain in Virginia Beach on Friday — when the three-day music festival begins at the Oceanfront — from 50% as of Monday to 93% as of Thursday afternoon. At the beginning of the week, their forecast showed a 40% chance of precipitation for the rest of the weekend, but that’s now shifted to between 14% and 11% all of Saturday and 50% on Sunday.

“Right now we have about a 50% chance of rain (on Sunday) but that could go either way, increase or decrease, at this point,” said NWS meteorologist Cody Toche. “But it looks like it’ll be drier than we originally thought, especially on Saturday — Saturday will be fairly dry and warm ... but Sunday is still highly uncertain at this point.”

The rain on Friday will be “widespread” and “steady” throughout the day, according to Toche, with about a 20% chance of a thunderstorm in the afternoon.

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The Weather Channel shows a similar outlook for the weekend. Their forecast shows a 99% chance of rain during the day Friday and 52% that night, followed by a 10% chance during the day Saturday and 48% that night. On Sunday, the Weather Channel predicts an 80%-94% chance of precipitation.

It’s unclear whether the rain will be enough to force cancellations at the event, which is returning to Virginia Beach for the first time since its 2019 debut. The festival’s website doesn’t share any information about the procedure in case of inclement weather. In 2019, it took 40-60 mph winds, heavy rain and the threat of a tornado to cancel Friday’s shows.

Concerts for the festival are scheduled to begin at 12:30 p.m. Friday, with Kid Cudi closing out the night with a show at 11. The opening and closing acts start at roughly the same times the other two days of the festival.

Gavin Stone, 757-712-4806, gavin.stone@virginiamedia.com