A Soaker Thursday; Showers Saturday
Good afternoon folks! We are in for a rainy Thursday with possible thunderstorms closer to sunset and shower activity will down for a vast majority of the region by Friday morning, however a few showers will cling to the TN line. Sunshine will return Friday closer to midday but this fair weather will be short lived as another disturbance approaches the region late Friday night, arriving sometime Saturday around midday. Another round of region wide rainfall will occur Saturday afternoon and wind down Saturday night, but NW flow in its wake will keep isolated showers going throughout the day on Sunday. Dry air eventually wraps into the region and we expect a sunny start to next week, with sunshine overhead Monday and Tuesday. Temps all the while go from slightly below normal Thursday to normal on Friday, dropping back down as we head into the weekend, with temps Sunday the coldest over the next five days (low 60's across the valleys).
A low pressure system will slide to our NW as the day moves along on Thursday, however showers are expected to develop as early as midnight for the escarpment. Shower coverage will slowly fill in from the south to the north as the morning moves along and peak coverage is likely to occur during the mid afternoon - mid evening hours. Shower intensity will be light - moderate for most of the event but thunderstorms are possible as we near sunset. Temps will hold to the low 50's - mid 60's depending upon elevation and breezy conditions will also be a factor as southeast winds gust to 50mph along the highest ridgelines. Showers will carry over into the pre dawn hours on Friday but should scale back to isolated coverage shortly before or after sunrise; low temps settle into the mid 40's - low 50's.
As showers wind down Friday morning most of SW NC will be reporting rainfall totals between 1 - 2", with the highest amounts along the escarpment. Shower activity will linger along the TN line Friday morning while the rest of us enjoy clearing skies. Breezy NW winds will be present throughout the day but temps will still make a run at the upper 50's - low 70's, which is roughly the norm for late April. Overnight into Saturday a few clouds will build but for the most part it will be quiet with temps in the low - upper 40's.
Saturday features a passing front that will bring us region wide showers and possibly some thunderstorms, dropping another 0.25 - 0.50" of rain across the region. As of Wednesday afternoon the peak window for shower coverage on Saturday looks to occur during the late afternoon hours, but activity will linger well into the evening hours. Temps will warm to the mid 50's - upper 60's Saturday afternoon and cool down to the upper 30's - mid 40's Saturday night.
Sunday dries out a bit but westerly flow will keep a handful of clouds overhead, mixed with an isolated shower or two and periods of sunshine. Temps will be noticeably cooler, only reaching the upper 40's - low 60's depending upon elevation, dropping to the low - upper 30's Sunday night; possibly even colder if the steady breezes winds down.
We'll stop here but do know early next week looks dry and sunny. We'll circle back on Friday with a focused look on the weekend and early next week. Stay dry out there!