Highs, rain chances on the rise

Happy Hump Day! It should come as a shock to no one that December is off to one of the coldest starts on record for the Queen City, but significantly warmer air finds its way into the Carolinas today. Despite increasing cloud cover this Wednesday afternoon, highs will be ushered near 60° across the Piedmont and Foothills as southwesterly winds flow into the WCCB Charlotte viewing area. Keep in mind that Charlotte has only cracked 60° once so far this month.

Unfortunately, the warmth will not stick around for long as an expansive rainmaking system pushes into the Metro by Thursday morning. Widespread rain will blanket the western half of the Carolinas throughout the daylight hours; while it won’t be a complete washout, most locations will see rain more often than not between sunrise and sunset Thursday. The good news is that we desperately need this rain – most of the Metro and points east of I-77 are under moderate drought conditions, and this is where short-range models suggest the heaviest rain will fall. Most locations around the Metro and eastward will see anywhere between a half-inch and an inch of rain between Thursday morning and Friday morning, with localized heavier amounts possible. While there is next to no severe threat on Thursday, a few heavier showers could pack wind gusts approaching 30 mph or higher.

Drier and colder air filter into the Carolinas behind Thursday’s system, leaving us with sunny skies and near-average temperatures on Friday and Saturday in the 40s and 50s across the board. The mercury quickly surges back into the mid-60s on Sunday before a mainly dry cold front slices into the WCCB Charlotte viewing area by the end of the weekend. The first few days of Christmas week appear to continue the dry trend as highs steadily rise near 60° again by Santa’s big day.

Today: Clouds build. Warmer. High: 59°. Wind: SW 5-15.

Tonight: Mostly cloudy. Seasonably mild. Low: 42°. Wind: Light.

Thursday: Rain, heavy at times. High: 55°. Wind: E 5-10.

Thursday Night: Overcast with a few showers. Low: 54°. Wind: SW 5-15. Gusts: 20+

Friday: A stray shower early, then mostly sunny and breezy. High: 57°. Wind: NW 5-15. Gusts: 20+