Showers return Sunday, Peak on Tuesday
Good afternoon folks! The snow that fell on Wednesday, April 1st was failry impressive as it hung around for most of the day when we thought it would fizzle out by the late morning hours. Mt LeConte picked up 5", Mt Mitchell 3", and most ridgelines above 5000' picked up a dusting up to 2".
Looking at Friday through Tuesday, it looks like we have sunshine on tap through Saturday, with clouds filling in early Sunday morning, followed by isolated showers after midday. Shower coverage remains spotty the rest of the day and night, taking till the early - mid afternoon hours on Monday for coverage to increase to scattered. All of this is due to a front that moves in Sunday and stalls across the region Monday, followed by an upper level shortwave that will move into the region Tuesday which will prompt region wide rain. Rainfall amounts look to remain under an inch this far out in time and no severe weather is expected. Temps all the while remain a handful of degrees above average Friday through Tuesday, with a slight cool down to normal levels by the end of next week; normal for early April in the valleys is 66°F.
Friday and Saturday keep sunny skies overhead and temps above normal as they push into the mid 50's - low 70's depending upon elevation. Patchy frost will start the day on Friday but overnight winds will keep frost from becoming widespread. Friday night temps settle into the upper 30's - mid 40's under mostly clear skies, while they struggle to dip below the low - mid 40's Saturday night as clouds move into the area.
Sunday will be a quiet day, with clouds slowly building throughout the day, alongside isolated showers developing sometime after midday. Due to southerly flow, its likely isolated showers develop first along the escarpment, eventually developing across any part of SW NC by the evening hours. Temps warm to the mid 50's - low 70's once again and settle into the mid - upper 40's overnight into Monday.
Monday is another slow build up kind of day with isolated showers taking most of the day to increase to scattered coverage, eventually becoming widespread by Tuesday. We do not know exactly when widespread coverage will occur, but it should be a fairly slow moving event so count on Tuesday being a soggy day. Precip clears out Wednesday and sets the stage for a dry and sunny end to the week. Temps Monday and Tuesday reach the upper 50's - low 70's and overnight lows settle into the upper 40's - mid 50's each night.
We'll circle back on Sunday with a new discussion. Enjoy the weekend!