Afternoon Showers Return; Still Hot
Good afternoon folks! We're past the peak heat of the day and only two spots managed to hit the 90°F mark, both personal weather stations, one in Franklin and one in Lake Junaluska. We'll continue to experience normal to slightly above normal temps Thursday into early next week, alongside higher dewpoints that will create a typical summertime (muggy) setup across the landscape. Shower and thunderstorm chances increase Thursday, peaking briefly Friday afternoon as a weak front pushes across the region, then scaling back to Thursday's levels (scattered at most) for the weekend and early next week. There is an upper level ridge that is keeping the temperature turned up across the South and it could be worse as our only misery is tied to heat indices in the upper 80's - low 90's, as opposed to the low 100's like you'll find across the Piedmont or Coastal Plain. This ridge will keep hot and partly - mostly sunny skies with afternoon storms going into early next week.
Thursday pushes temps to the upper 80's across the lower elevations and clouds will take over for roughly half of the region by the mid afternoon hours as scattered showers and thunderstorms develop. The ridgelines will hold to the low - mid 70's above 5500' and they'll also be the place to be for shower development past 3pm. Temps bottom out to the low - mid 60's under mostly clear skies.
Friday features a passing front that is just strong enough to bring most of the region a round of showers and thunderstorms during the mid afternoon hours. Sunshine starts the day but clouds should fill in around midday, gradually clearing out overnight into Saturday. Temps warm to the mid - upper 80's across the valleys, while the ridgelines stay cool in the low 70's. Partly cloudy skies later in the night will help hold temps to the mid - upper 60's.
Saturday and Sunday feature scattered showers and thunderstorms with a healthy dose of sunshine before noon, setting up a nice weekend to be outside with a chance for a passing shower but not a washout. Temps warm to the mid - upper 80's once again across the lower elevations, with overnight lows in the mid 60's under partly cloudy skies; showers fizzle out by the mid evening hours.
Monday and Tuesday should be much of the same as the weekend with the only difference being temps warm a degree or two to the upper 80's, alongside muggy conditions. Nothing a jump in the water can't fix. We'll stop here and circle back on Friday. Stay cool out there!