Cool and Wet through Tuesday

Good afternoon folks! The cold air damming event took till this morning (Sunday) to fully establish itself, hence why we saw more sunshine and warmer temps than was forecasted for Saturday, but we sure are enjoying the cooler temps this afternoon. Shower chances remain isolated tonight and increase to scattered coverage Monday afternoon, with not much in the way of heavy downpours expected, just light - moderate showers. Spotty showers continue into Tuesday and we'll enjoy temps a handful of degrees below normal Monday and Tuesday, with an increase in sunshine Wednesday, just enough to bring us back to normal. A cold front swings through late Wednesday afternoon, firing off scattered thunderstorms that will fizzle by the evening hours, followed by clearing skies overnight. Sunny skies are likely post frontal Thursday and this fair weather may extend into next weekend, setting up a slightly warm but dry football season opener at home for Western; also a pleasant Friday evening for high school games.

Temps Monday and Tuesday will push into the mid - upper 70's across the lower elevations, with Monday a degree or two cooler than Tuesday due to the lingering cold air damming setup, which should break down in earnest early Tuesday morning. Scattered light - moderate showers are likely throughout the 48 hour period, with Tuesday experiencing more showers than Monday, all totaling up to a half inch up to an inch across SW NC. Overnight lows settle into the mid 50's along the ridgelines, while the valleys settle into the low 60's, all under cloudy skies.

Wednesday will bring some sunshine back to the region but it will do so alongside periods of passing clouds, because even though we lose the influence of the wedge we expect clouds to increase out of the west as the front approaches. The front will be late to arrive and as such so will the expected round of thunderstorms, all of this allowing temps to reach the upper 60's - low 80's depending upon elevation; an uptick in the mugginess factor as well.

All precip and cloud cover should exit to the east late Wednesday night, setting up Thursday into next weekend with full sunshine, which will push temps into the low - mid 80's by the week's end. We'll stop here and put out another forecast discussion Tuesday mid afternoon, focusing on the incoming front and subsequent stretch of sunshine; which should be perfect for those needing to cut, dry, and bale your fields.