Isolated Showers Tuesday? Hot through Wed

Good morning folks! The story remains mostly the same, however it looks like isolated showers may try to develop as early as Tuesday and continue through Thursday, with coverage ramping up by Friday. This does not mean we will see a break from the near record temps or blazing sun, but we'll take whatever we can get as we enter the middle portion of this dry spell. For those wishing the heat would go away, if you can stick it out till later in the week you'll have your wish as temps return to the upper 70's - low 80's by next weekend. As usual, the best chances for rain Tuesday through Thursday will be along the highest ridgelines and this time southwest flow will be the main feature driving isolated shower development. This translates to the Unicoi, Snowbird, Cowee and Great Smoky Mountains having the best shot for any shower activity Tuesday into Thursday, with all of SW NC in play as we move into the Friday - Sunday timeframe.

Temps Monday return to the upper 80's under more sunshine but we'll be treated with a pleasant start in the valleys as temps dip to the low - mid 50's Sunday night alongside patchy fog developing after midnight (this may keep the heat at bay a few hours longer compared to the ridgelines). Sunny skies will transition to mostly clear skies Monday night and temps will settle into the upper 50's - low 60's depending upon elevation.

Tuesday through Thursday finally begins to break down and move out the upper level ridge that is driving this mini heat wave, but we'll still endure temps in the upper 80's - low 90's Tuesday and Wednesday, cooling down a touch to the mid - upper 80's on Thursday. The ridgelines will hold to the low - mid 70's through the week and always provide some relief from the heat if you can make it above 5000'. Overnight lows settle into the upper 50's - mid 60's each night under partly cloudy skies. As we mentioned above, there is a growing chance for isolated showers to develop Tuesday through Thursday, favoring the more southwestern portion of the area but 90 - 95% of SW NC will remain dry. Rain chances increase to scattered levels by Friday and will likely hold to these levels by next weekend; too far out to be certain. As with any chance for rain during the warm months, temps will cool down to the low 80's by Friday for the lower elevations!!!

We'll stop here and circle back on Tuesday before noon.

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