A Soaking Rainfall Thursday into Friday
Good afternoon folks! Hurricane Sally packed a punch along the Gulf Coast this morning with rainfall totals over two feet in several spots, slowly moving our way today, expected to slide just to our southeast Thursday and bring a soaking rain to SW NC. Our neighbors across the Piedmont are in for much more rain, with flash flooding a likelihood as 4 - 6" of rain falls in a short span of time (isolated 7 - 8"). In our neck of the woods we'll pick up anywhere from 1 - 2" along or near the TN line, maxing out to 3 - 5" for the escarpment (Lake Toxaway, Highlands, and so on). All of this falls Wednesday night into Friday late morning, with coverage winding down Friday afternoon. We'll make up for the soaking rainfall with perfect fall conditions this weekend, as dewpoint levels drop, the sun comes out and temps settle anywhere from 6 - 8 degrees below normal; 30's are in play above 6000'. The models keep our good fortune going with fair and cool weather extending into early next week.
Shower activity begins this evening and ramps up throughout the night, becoming widespread by Thursday morning. Coverage will be spotty along or near the TN line but should be an all day affair for Cashiers, Highlands, Lake Toxaway or anywhere close to the SC state line. Temps will not move much Thursday, only reaching the low 60's above 5000', while the valleys nudge into the upper 60's. Overnight lows barely move due to continuing rainfall, holding out to the mid 50's - low 60's depending upon elevation.
Coverage scales back to scattered Friday morning and drops even further to isolated coverage Friday afternoon, but enough cloud cover will be overhead to cap temps to the upper 50's - low 70's depending upon elevation. Overnight lows bottom out to the upper 40's above 4000' and the valleys settle into the mid 50's under a clearing sky.
Some high clouds will pass overhead on Saturday, followed by mostly sunny skies Sunday and Monday. Temps will level out to the upper 50's - low 60's above 4500' and warm to the low 70's across the valleys. Overnight lows dip into the mid 40's for the lower elevations and the upper 30's are possible across the highest ridgelines.
We'll stop here and circle back on Friday; stay dry!