Not Much Change; Hot and Humid

Good Afternoon Folks! Unfortunately we don't have much in the way of exciting weather news as the upper level ridges and associated high pressure system continue to dominate the pattern. A cold front is slicing through the Midwest as we speak but it doesn't look like it will dip south enough to impact our region. With this in mind, the pattern as of late will hold and we can expect temps to remain 10 degrees above average, both during the day and night and rain chances tick up slightly this weekend, but only maxing out to isolated chances. Generally this time of the year max temps should be in the mid - upper 70's across the lower elevations, with overnight lows dipping into the upper 40's - low 50's, however we'll continue to experience temps in the upper 70's - low 80's each afternoon and overnight lows in the upper 50's - low 60's.

Friday will likely be our warmest day of the week with temps nearing 84°F in towns such as Franklin, Sylva and Waynesville, while the ridgelines hold to the mid - upper 60's. Isolated showers are possible tomorrow with partly cloudy skies, however the best chance will be along the ridgelines. Overnight lows settle back into the mid 50's - low 60's depending upon elevation, with passing clouds overhead and fog developing across the valleys.

The weekend should feature more cloud cover compared to today and Friday, but not cloudy as it seems high, thin passing clouds will make up most of the action. Isolated shower chances linger through the weekend, with temps a few degrees cooler compared to Friday (upper 70's - low 80's throuhgout the elevations).

Shower chances increase a bit Monday due to easterly flow off the Atlantic, so expect a muggy afternoon to start the work and school week, but temps do cool off slightly to the upper 70's Monday through Wednesday for the lower elevations. We'll circle back Saturday morning with another update, with a focus on the pattern change coming in the next handful of days.