A Soupy Start to the Week
Good Morning Folks! An odd setup for late July is underway across the southeast region, mainly due to the placement of a nearby upper level low and subsequent trough. Although these features occur throughout the year, the placement has created a tropical plume of moisture for our neighbors along the coast and this translates into a very muggy setup for our region. Today through Wednesday you can expect a muggy airmass, with a higher chance for showers but of course the silver lining will be the cooler temps. By Thursday dry air will push into the region from the northwest and setup an ideal end to the work week with mostly sunny skies overhead, but of course temps will also increase compared to earlier in the week. Overall, the entire region will pick up beneficial rainfall, with the highest amounts found along or near the SC state line, peaking in coverage late Tuesday into Wednesday.
Partly cloudy skies this morning will increase to partly sunny - mostly cloudy skies this afternoon as moisture continues to pour into the region. Scattered thunderstorms will develop this afternoon, however it wont be a complete washout and temps will rise to the low 60's - upper 70's depending upon elevation, settling back into the upper 50's - low 60's tonight under cloudy skies. Scattered showers are likely tonight, but rainfall amounts should be under a quarter inch for most of the region.
Tuesday through Wednesday will be our wettest part of the week and if you have been waiting to cut your lawn or field, you should wait till Friday to allow Thursday to work it's magic. Roughly an inch up to two inches will fall across the area during the next two days, with coverage becoming widespread Wednesday morning. Temps will hold to the mid 60's - upper 70's both days, however the deeper valley towns such as Bryson City or Franklin could come close to the low 80's on Wednesday if showers push out earlier than expected.
Thursday and Friday offer us two bone dry days with sunshine overhead and temps rising to the low 70's across the higher elevations, peaking to the mid 80's across the deeper valleys. Moisture levels will be comfortable Thursday and increase late Friday, setting up the weekend for a normal summertime pattern with isolated thunderstorms late in the day.
Overall, minus the rain and muggy conditions, temps will be comfortable today through Wednesday and then return to normal by the end of the week as sunshine returns to the region. We'll provide an update tomorrow morning to double check that the rain event still holds, as some of the models point to a slight shift to the east (fingers crossed).