Sweet relief ahead

It’s been a brutally hot month, but July is finally coming to an end today – and some sweet relief from the heat is just around the corner. The hot and sticky trend continues this Thursday afternoon, however, as highs soar above 90° across the Piedmont and Foothills for a 25th-straight day. Scattered storms, our only saviors from the torrid temperatures, fire up once again in the afternoon; a few of these may be on the heavy side with wind gusts approaching 40 mph. Our fortunes begin to change overnight as a cold front pushes in from the northwest, opening the floodgates for much cooler air to flow into the Carolinas.

The cool-air cavalry doesn’t arrive all at once; there’s still a strong chance the Queen City gets into the 90s for a 26th-straight afternoon on Friday as another round of storms fire up to ring in August. That said, a classic “winter wedge” setup greets us in time for August’s first weekend. High pressure will set up to our north, pushing much cooler air into the WCCB Charlotte viewing area on Saturday. The pocket of dense, cooler air will wedge itself against the Appalachian Mountains, forcing warm air over it, leading to clouds and a few showers through the first half of the weekend. Highs may fail to crack 80° in Charlotte for the first time in nearly two months on Saturday. We’ll see a bit more sunshine on Sunday, but temperatures likely remain below average through midweek next week.

Today: Hot and humid with PM scattered storms. High: 92°. Wind: SW 5-10.

Tonight: A stray storm or two early, then partly cloudy. Low: 74°. Wind: Light.

Friday: Another hot one with scattered storms in the afternoon. High: 92°. Wind: NE 5-10.

Friday Night: Scattered showers and storms. Low: 68°. Wind: NE 5-15.

Saturday: Mostly cloudy with a few showers. Much cooler. High: 78°. Wind: NE 5-15. Gusts: 20+