Heavy Rain into Thursday; Dry and Cold Friday
Good afternoon folks! Its been a wet morning and we'll experience a minor lull from the early - late afternoon hours but shower coverage should fill back in as we approach the evening hours, with heavy, widespread rain expected overnight into Thursday. All of this is due to a warm front pushing through the region, followed by the remnants of Zeta that should be crossing our region sometime around sunrise on Thursday. Most of SW NC will pick up 3 - 4" of rain and several sites will hit the 5 - 6" mark, especially along and near the escarpment. Once Zeta scoots out of the Carolinas Thursday evening we'll then experience a passing cold front from the NW that will usher in dry and cold air to the area that will stick around all weekend. We'll go from muggy, wet, and warm today and Thursday to sunny, dry, and cold Friday through Monday.
As of midday Wednesday most of SW NC has already picked up 1 - 1.5" of rain with upwards of 2 - 2.5" along the N GA state line and we'll pick up another 0.5 - 1" this afternoon and evening, with 2 - 3" likely overnight into Thursday morning. The heaviest rain will fall overnight into Thursday and we'll also experience strong winds out of the SW around 20 - 30mph, gusting to 40mph at times after midnight across the valleys, extending into the mid morning hours on Thursday; ridgelines will experience gusts up to 65mph. Temps will only make it down to the upper 50's - low 60's tonight, which is close to our normal afternoon high for late October.
Thursday starts off the day with widespread showers across the region and winds will still be strong, but should calm down to a reasonable level (10 - 20mph) by midday. Temps climb back to the low 60's - low 70's depending upon elevation and although shower coverage slowly wanes throughout the day, we still expect Thursday to be a washout. Showers dry up just before or after sunset, although the immediate TN line should experience a few light showers as the cold front sweeps into the region from the NW (no chance for snow). Temps drop quickly overnight into Friday and clouds clear the region after midnight, with lows in the upper 30's - low 40's above 5000', warming to the mid - upper 40's across the valleys.
Friday through Monday features sunshine, colder temps, and noticeably drier air with highs on Friday only making it to the mid 40's above 5000', pushing to the upper 50's across the lower elevations. Overnight lows bottom out to the upper 20's - mid 30's Friday night, setting the stage for a frosty Saturday morning. Temps Saturday and Sunday climb to the upper 40's - low 60's depending upon elevation under sunny skies, with overnight lows settling into the mid 30's - low 40's Saturday night but bottoming out to the mid 20's - low 30's Sunday and Monday nights.
We'll stop here and circle back on Friday. Bring in the lawn chairs this evening and start making plans for a gorgeous, albeit chilly and dry weekend!