Clouds build, rain chances rise
Meaningful rain chances begin Sunday morning and linger through much of the week ahead.
Memorial Day weekend is off to a magnificent start, but the good times stop their roll Saturday night as scattered showers push into the Carolinas from the west. While most locations along and north of I-85 remain dry through most of the daylight hours on Sunday, overcast skies and highs 5-10º below average won’t make for a great lake day. The good news is that – despite the gloominess – the 6-10 pm window looks mostly dry for our area; that’s great news for race fans attending the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of room for error – widespread rain blankets the WCCB Charlotte viewing area shortly after midnight.
Sunday night’s storms will have some staying power and may be heavy at times, but short-range models suggest the rain largely clears out by sunrise on Memorial Day. While the moisture clears the region on our holiday Monday, the clouds will not. Highs may struggle to clear 70º across the Piedmont and Foothills due to the overcast conditions and northeasterly winds.
The doom and gloom finally reaches a head on Tuesday as an expansive rainmaking system invades the Carolinas from the west. Expect widespread rain for our first day of the holiday-shortened workweek, totalling above a half-inch for most communities. The bulk of the showers may arrive on Tuesday, but lingering storm chances stick around through much of the week ahead as temperatures steadily build back toward 80º.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy. Comfy. Low: 61°. Wind: Light.
Sunday: Clouds remain. A few showers are possible later in the day. High: 73°. Wind: SE 5-10.
Sunday Night: Scattered rain. Low: 63°. Wind: NE 5-10.
Monday: Mostly cloudy with a stray shower. High: 68°. NE 5-15.
