Upper 80's & Pop Up Showers this Weekend
Good morning folks! Hazy conditions will continue over the next few days as smoke from the western wildfires continues to stream into the Southeast, possibly ending Mon/Tues. Shower chances will gradually increase as we move through the weekend, with peak coverage occurring Monday and Tuesday and leveling off a bit as we approach Wednesday and Thursday. One trend in the models we are not looking forward to is an uptick in daily high temps for the second half of next week, with highs in the upper 80's - low 90's likely, coupled with a small decrease in shower activity. This is not unusual for late July and as we enter the last week of July, we are technically hitting the hottest part of the year for SW NC, with an extremely gradual decline in daily highs as we move through August; September is when the decline is more noticeable. All in all, the headlines for the next 5 - 6 days are increasing moisture (muggy), peak shower coverage Mon/Tues, and then plain ole hot conditions for the second half of next week.
We'll start the timeline on Saturday with another round of valley fog to start the day, while the upper elevations start the day under mostly sunny skies. Sunshine will own the morning but isolated showers will develop after midday, expanding to scattered coverage by the mid afternoon hours, fizzling out by the late evening hours. Temps warm to the low 70's - upper 80's depending upon elevation and settle into the mid 50's - mid 60's Saturday night under partly cloudy skies. Sunday is a repeat of Saturday with temps running a degree higher and we'll also notice an uptick in moisture levels as southerly flow begins to increase ahead of a frontal passage slated to arrive Monday into Tuesday.
Monday and Tuesday feature regionwide showers but we do not expect a washout, more so all of SW NC experiencing showers at some point during the day (both days). A front will approach the region early Monday and cross the area Tuesday, possibly stalling just to our southeast later that night. This will bring with it an uptick in cloud cover, temps maxing out to the mid 80's across the valleys, and of course higher than normal moisture levels = muggy. Overnight lows settle into the low - upper 60's each night due to high moisture levels and Monday night will be cloudy, while Tuesday night is likely to feature clearing skies after midnight.
The middle of next week is not set in stone and as of today (Friday) the forecast is trending toward more sunshine than clouds, pop up showers around 3 - 5pm and temps soaring to the upper 80's Wednesday, low 90's Thursday and Friday. This may change so be sure to circle back on Sunday for a more detailed look at the middle - latter part of next week. ENJOY!