Daily Showers; Sticky through Wed

Good afternoon folks! Shower coverage will expand with each passing day Saturday into Monday as southerly flow and above normal moisture levels take over, beginning Sunday afternoon. By Monday or Tuesday we could see a slight dip in shower activity as the high pressure to our east begins to breakdown, however the models show a possible/weak tropical system that could influence the region Tues/Wed, pushing shower coverage even higher. We are not sure which way shower coverage will go (up or down) as we approach Tuesday, but one thing is for certain and that is sticky, summerlike conditions are here to stay. We expect temps to level out to the mid 80's Saturday across the valleys and hold to this level through late next week, while at the same time moisture levels push well above normal, leading to muggy conditions across the area; no surprise, it is the middle of July. As always you can escape the heat by heading up to 5000' + where temps only make it to the upper 60's - low 70's each afternoon. All in all, we'll experience a decent chance for rain just about anywhere Sunday through Wednesday, with a slightly better chance for activity/higher totals along the Snowbird, Unicoi, Cowee mountains and Southern Highlands Plateau.

We'll start the timeline on Sunday with isolated showers dotting the landscape around sunrise, giving way to a period of sunshine before midday and then scattered showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Temps push to the low 70's - mid 80's depending upon elevation and most of the shower activity will fizzle out by the late evening hours. Fog is likely Sunday night for most of the valleys across SW NC, with temps settling into the upper 50's - mid 60's.

Monday features a slight increase in shower coverage compared to Sunday but temps remain the same, returning to the mid 80's across the lower elevations. If the tropical system does influence the region Tuesday and Wednesday, we are likely to experience more clouds than sun each afternoon, with scattered showers late in the day Tuesday, continuing into the morning hours on Wednesday and winding down after midday. This is not set in stone so check back in on Monday but we are leaning in this direction as of Saturday afternoon. Temps cool down slightly to the upper 60's - low 80's due to the uptick in cloud cover and shower activity.

Thursday into next weekend is too far out to be certain but the overall setup should translate to more sun than clouds each afternoon, above normal moisture levels that will lead to daily rounds of pop up showers after 1 - 3pm. Temps hold to the mid 80's across the area but could spike to the upper 80's if cloud cover/shower activity never materializes at your location.

We'll stop here and circle back on Monday with a better handle on the Tues/Wed possibilities and of course a more detailed look at late next week. ENJOY!