Heavy Rain Wednesday into Thursday
Good afternoon folks! All eyes are on Zeta and rightfully so as it tracks toward the Gulf Coast, eventually crossing our region sometime Thursday, bringing with it several inches of rain for SW NC. We'll enjoy a sunny day on Tuesday and clouds fill in quickly overnight, with light showers developing sometime Wednesday morning as remnants of Zeta approaches our region. The track of Zeta is not set in stone but the table is set for it to pass overhead or nearby Wednesday night into Thursday, exiting later that evening. This in and out timeline keeps rainfall totals from being too excessive and we'll enjoy a noticeable change in the pattern Friday, with sunshine and much cooler temps pushing into the region. High pressure and colder air should reign supreme this upcoming weekend, allowing for a fall classic to play out across the Carolinas; still plenty of color across the lower elevations. It seems we'll also break our streak of nights above 39°F, with frost possible Saturday, Sunday, and Monday mornings.
Tuesday starts the day a bit cloudy but sunshine quickly takes over and temps respond, pushing to the low 60's - low 70's with reasonable humidity levels for late October. Clouds fill back in just before sunset and hang around all night, capping overnight lows to the upper 40's - mid 50's depending upon elevation.
The remnants of Zeta will be fast approaching Wednesday and we'll notice shower coverage and rainfall intensities slowly ramp up as the day progresses, going from isolated, light showers around daybreak to scattered, moderate showers by sunset. Temps hold to the low - upper 60's depending upon elevation Wednesday afternoon and only settle into the mid 50's - low 60's overnight into Thursday as rainfall increases. Coverage becomes widespread Wednesday night and intensities increase to moderate - heavy showers as southerly flow pairs up with the incoming remnants of Zeta. From Wednesday morning into Thursday afternoon most of SW NC will pick up 2 - 3" of rain, however locations along the GA and SC state lines will push into the 3 - 4" range, alongside a handful of spots reaching the 5" mark. Temps Thursday warm slightly to the upper 50's - upper 60's and the rain event should wind down shortly before or after sunset, with high pressure knocking on the door during the late night hours. Colder air should be able to push into the region before sunrise, bringing temps down to the low - upper 40's.
Friday through Sunday is shaping up to be a fall classic with sunny skies overhead and temps only making it to the upper 40's - low 60's each afternoon. Overnight lows bottom out to the low - upper 30's each night under mostly clear - partly cloudy skies, setting the stage for patchy frost Saturday, Sunday, and Monday mornings.
We'll stop here and circle back Wednesday afternoon, looking at the incoming rain event and fine tuning the weekend's temperature forecast. ENJOY!