Showers Friday; Summer-like Weekend

Good afternoon folks! The rain event is finally winding down as we enter the evening hours on Thursday, however we'll experience another round of rain Friday afternoon that is loosely tied to the departing upper level low. The highest amounts across the Carolinas are throughout the NW NC escarpment where upwards of 10" fell in several spots, while closer to home we saw max totals in the 5 - 6" range (Rosman at 6.14" is the highest for SW NC). Most of SW NC picked up anywhere from 2 - 3.5" of rain which is roughly a half inch shy of forecasted totals and thankfully flooding was held to a minimum for our neck of the woods.

The upper level low is slowly lifting northeast and as it does so Thursday night into Friday morning several disturbances will pinwheel into the region, arriving sometime during the afternoon hours. This will lead to a wet end to the work week with cloudy skies overhead and scattered thunderstorms developing across the region, resulting in another 0.5 - 1" of rain by the evening hours. Coverage wanes a bit overnight into Saturday with isolated showers still developing here and there under mostly cloudy skies. Temps Friday will warm to the upper 50's - low 70's depending upon elevation, followed by overnight lows in the mid - upper 50's.

The weekend will feel more summer-like as temps push to the low - mid 80's each afternoon and with lingering moisture levels so high, especially on Saturday, it will feel uncomfortably muggy each afternoon; mid - upper 60's on the Parkway. A warm front will slowly lift north on Saturday under a developing upper level ridge and this will result in pop up thunderstorms past midday, with high clouds keeping a good bit of the sunshine at bay. Sunday is a bit different in the way things are setup but the result is still the same, pop up thunderstorms past midday. Overnight shower coverage will be isolated Saturday night, increasing to scattered Sunday night and both nights keep temps to the mid 50's - low 60's.

Taking a look at Memorial Day it doesn't look like the best setup for those wanting some sun, as high clouds stream overhead due to a cold air damming setup that peaks early Monday. Add in spotty light showers throughout the day and you may want to adjust your outdoor plans to include some water activities or enjoy time outside under some cover because a passing shower at some point before 4pm is a good bet for all locations across SW NC; not an all day washout, just a passing shower. Temps will be a silver lining as they climb to the upper 60's - low 80's depending upon elevation.

A mix bag of sunshine, passing clouds, and afternoon pop up showers make up the forecast for Tuesday into the latter part of next week, with temps in the upper 70's - low 80's each afternoon for the lower elevations. We'll stop here and circle back on Sunday morning.