Showers Monday; Noticeably Cooler Wednesday
Good Morning Folks! The overall forecast is still on track from our previous discussion, with a few tweaks pertaining to late week rain chances. Clouds will slowly fill in later this afternoon, but temps will respond to increasing southerly flow, reaching the upper 70's across the valleys. A front will cross the region tonight and bring with it regionwide showers that should tally up to 0.50 - 1" depending upon where thunderstorms develop. Showers carry over into Monday and coverage wanes slightly as the front progresses southeast, with scattered coverage holding strong till the early afternoon hours; another tenth - quarter inch of rain is likely. We dry out ever so slightly on Tuesday as shower coverage scales back to isolated coverage throughout the day, with partly - mostly cloudy skies overhead. The front that passes through the region on Monday will stall to our southeast on Tuesday and high pressure will try to influence the region on Wednesday, with a mixed bag of sun and high clouds on tap for the day; isolated shower chances linger along the ridgelines. An upper level disturbance arrives on Thursday, setting the stage for scattered light showers, coupled with high clouds and periods of sun, with rain chances ending later that night. Sunshine returns on Friday and should extend into next weekend, but nothing is a guarantee this far out in time. The most notable part of the forecast will be the cooler temps that settle into the region on Wednesday and Thursday, with afternoon highs running roughly 10 - 12 degrees below normal for mid May.
I'll quickly mention that today (Sunday) features strong southerly winds around 15 - 25mph, gusting to 35mph at times across the higher elevations. We'll see clouds increase in earnest as we approach sunset and light showers will begin to break out across the region as soon as this evening, mainly for the southernmost portions of the region; Andrews - Murphy, Robbinsville, and portions of Macon County. Shower coverage increases to widespread during the pre dawn hours and a few thunderstorms will be embedded in the passing band of showers, allowing totals to hit the one inch mark in several spots, while the vast majority of SW NC picks up a half inch of rain. Overnight lows settle into the low - upper 50's depending upon elevation and southerly winds will maintain speeds around 15 - 25mph throughout the night.
Shower coverage spills over into Monday morning as the front takes it's sweet time crossing the region, eventually pushing southeast of the area by the afternoon hours. Shower intensities will be light - moderate throughout the day, however there still remains a chance for a thunderstorm or two, but for the most part rainfall totals will add up to tenth - quarter inch of rain region wide. There will be a few periods of sunshine on Monday, but cloud cover should win out and temps will warm to the upper 50's - mid 70's as southerly flow holds strong for a good portion of the day. After the front crosses the area, winds will shift to out of the northwest, helping overnight lows dip into the low - upper 40's, alongside mostly cloudy skies and isolated light showers.
Tuesday features isolated showers, passing high clouds out of the west and temps only reaching the low 50's - low 70's depending upon elevation, possibly cooler if cloud cover is thicker than currently forecasted. Overnight lows dip into the upper 30's - upper 40's across the region, with isolated shower chances fizzling out after midnight.
Wednesday and Thursday will be noticeably cooler and this may trend colder as we approach the middle of the week, so be sure to circle back on Tuesday for any new updates. As of today (Sunday) we are going with high clouds for Wednesday and temps in the upper 40's - mid 60's depending upon elevation; perhaps a degree or two cooler on Thursday due to scattered rain chances. The Thursday rain event will be light and short lived, with sunshine returning on Friday and temps are expected to rebound to the low 70's across the valleys.
We'll stop here and circle back Tuesday morning. Enjoy!