Wonderfully warm weekend ahead

Happy Friday! The Queen City managed to crack 70° Thursday afternoon – just three days removed from the first snowfall of the season – and temperatures only take off into the weekend. Expect another day near 70° across the Piedmont and Foothills as sunny skies and southwesterly winds keep the ball rolling through the final day of the workweek before highs surge into the mid-70s on Saturday. The blowtorch out of the southwest will be in full effect on Sunday as a cold front approaches from the northwest; afternoon temperatures may flirt with 80° around the Metro. While the incoming front will bring some scattered showers to the High Country as we close out the weekend, the lower elevations largely remain dry through the next four days.

Sunday’s cold front won’t bring much in terms of rain, but it will bring noticeably cooler temperatures as we kick off the new workweek. That said, temperatures remain above average for the foreseeable future. Expect highs to hang around 70° across the Piedmont and Foothills through the first two days of the week before another storm system approaches from the northwest. While this round of rain may find its way into the Metro, don’t expect much in terms of significant totals. Another bout of cooler air filters into the Carolinas through the back half of next week, but the Metro will remain frost- and freeze-free through the next seven days.

Today: Nice. High: 69°. Wind: SW 5-10.

Tonight: Mostly clear. Chilly. Low: 44°. Wind: SW 5-10.

Saturday: Variable clouds. Warmer. High: 74°. Wind: SW 5-15. Gusts: 20+

Saturday Night: Partly-to-mostly cloudy. Mild. Low: 58°. Wind: SW 10-20. Gusts: 25+

Sunday: Mostly sunny and breezy. Warm with scattered mountain showers. High: 76°. Wind: SW 10-20. Gusts: 25+