Fair Weather through Tuesday

Good afternoon folks! It's a windy day across the region with gust up to 45 - 50mph along the ridgelines and clouds will continue to push to the east, followed by sunny skies overhead before sunset. We picked up a tenth - quarter inch of rain for most of the region and the highest total is out of Unaka at 0.44". Sunshine dominates the day tomorrow and a few clouds develop Sunday with a very isolated chance for showers. Sunshine carries over into Monday and Tuesday, with temps warming to the low 80's and perhaps the mid 80's by the middle part of next week. Enough moisture and instability moves into the region by Tuesday or Wednesday to allow pop up thunderstorms, similar to what we typically find during the summer months. All in all, the weekend and early part of next week will be quiet, a tad warm but overall enjoyable.

Temps tonight dip into the mid - upper 30's along the ridgelines, while the valleys sit in the upper 30's - low 40's, with clear skies overhead and alongside winds out of the NW around 10 - 20mph. Breezy conditions will remain for most of the weekend, mainly due to a weak front passing through Sunday. Even with the weak frontal passage sunshine will reign supreme, with a few clouds late Sunday but not enough to keep mostly sunny skies away. Temps rise to the low 60's - mid 70's each afternoon, falling to the mid 40's - low 50's each night.

Monday offers up more sunshine and temps warming to the mid 60's - upper 70's, climbing to the upper 60's - low 80's Tuesday, possibly even the mid 80's in the more urban areas like Downtown Sylva or Waynesville. Overnight lows settle into the upper 40's - upper 50's each night next week, with fog likely Wednesday morning.

We'll post another discussion Sunday afternoon and focus on the upcoming warmth, which will be roughly 8 - 12 degrees above average for late April - early May.