Dry, Sunny, & Hot through Wednesday
Good afternoon folks! Different day, same setup and not much will change as the forecast still calls for sunshine, dry air (low dewpoints), little to no rain and above average temps that will make a run at the 90°F mark Tuesday and Wednesday. This weekend will be an ideal weekend to hit the water as temps push into the mid - upper 80's across the valleys, while the ridgelines sit in the upper 60's - low 70's. We'll nudge the thermostat up a degree or two on Monday, climbing to the upper 80's and by the middle of next week the upper level ridge will be overhead, setting the stage for our first 90°F day of the season for at least a few of our valley towns. The ridge slides to the east late next week and NW flow may bring us several rounds of scattered showers and thunderstorms, possibly as early as Thursday. This late week setup will bring an end to temps in the 90's but we'll remain in the mid 80's for the foreseeable future.
Saturday and Sunday keep mostly sunny skies overhead and we'll start the day on Saturday with temps colder in the valleys compared to the ridgelines, with lows in the upper 40's - low 50's below 3000', while the ridgelines sit in the mid - upper 50's. Temps warm to the mid - upper 80's Saturday and will likely be a degree or two warmer on Sunday, with our only chance for rain evaporating with each new model run, but its still SW NC and you can never say never, so we are holding onto isolated pop ups in the Smokies and Great Balsams; light, short lived, no need to change plans. Overnight lows settle into the low - upper 50's Sunday night under partly cloudy skies.
Monday through Wednesday doesn't have much going on with more sunshine overhead each day and temps climbing to the upper 80's - low 90's. Tuesday and Wednesday will be the hottest days of the week, but only by a few degrees so its more of a technicality and we hope the change coming late next week can produce enough shower activity to bring us back to the low - mid 80's. Overnight lows will be our silver lining during this mini heat wave as they settle into the mid 50's - low 60's each night.
We'll stop here and circle back around noon on Sunday. Enjoy the weekend!