Relief is on the Way; Showers Friday
Good morning folks! There is some light at the end of the forecast for those wishing for a slightly drier airmass and not this soupy setup we currently have in place. We'll experience another round of afternoon pop up showers and thunderstorms today (Thursday) and Friday also features scattered shower coverage, but this is due to a front moving into the region from north, bringing with it some relief. This so called relief will not be felt till later in the day on Saturday and we'll benefit from a second frontal passage Sunday afternoon into Monday morning, this time from the northwest. Early next week is shaping up to be dry-ish, with isolated showers and much more sunshine, although we trade the excessive dewpoints with above normal temps, but hey, there's always a nearby swimming hole to cool down if you need to escape the heat. The models differ past Tuesday but generally the setup points to dry conditions through Wed/Thur. For those needing to cut and dry your hay fields, a cut on Saturday or Sunday will work, drying out Mon - Wed under sunny skies and temps in the upper 80's.
We'll kick off the forecast on Friday, with another round of fog for the valleys and mostly cloudy skies to start the day. Temps warm to the low 80's across the valleys and we'll see some sunshine poke through the broken cloud cover, but this will only help fire up showers across the region. Shower development will be a pop up fashion through the early afternoon hours and then coverage will expand to regionwide as we approach sunset, as the front migrates into the region from the north. Showers continue through the evening hours and wane after midnight, but another 0.25 - 1" of rain is possible for all SW NC Friday into Saturday morning. Overnight lows once again will settle into the upper 50's - mid 60's depending upon elevation.
This weekend will not be a washout and we expect shower coverage to be much lower compared to Mon - Thur of this week, with only scattered chances on Saturday and isolated coverage Sunday. We'll start the day on Saturday with muggy conditions and fog across the valleys, giving way to a mixed bag of sunshine and broken cloud cover as the front continues its migration south of the area. We expect more sunshine after midday and even though dewpoints will be lower compared to Friday, enough moisture will be present for pop up showers; nothing to cancel outdoor plans over, just keep in mind rain is a possibility. Isolated shower chances linger through the overnight hours and stick around for Sunday but there should be ample sunshine across the region. A weak front crosses the region later in the day and this should exit the region before sunrise on Monday. Temps hold to the low - mid 80's Saturday, dropping to the mid 50's - low 60's Saturday night and rebounding to the mid - upper 80's on Sunday. Mostly clear skies Sunday night should allow temps to dip into the low - upper 50's depending upon elevation.
Monday through Wednesday will be hot as temps climb to the upper 80's across the lower elevations, but at least it will be dry. Full sunshine returns Monday and sticks around through Wednesday, with overnight lows in the low - upper 50's, which is just cool enough to offset the heat of the day.
We'll stop here and circle back on Saturday with a better look at the latter part of next week. Fingers crossed we stay dry but that may be an uphill climb here in the wettest part of NC and the Southeast. ENJOY!