Rain to dissipate Tuesday night, WRAL Weather Alert Day on Thursday ⛈️
Scattered showers will be likely Wednesday before a WRAL Weather Alert Day on Thursday.
Light showers will continue to dissipate Tuesday evening. Skies will be mostly cloudy and lows will be in the upper 50s.
- Tuesday night: Mostly cloudy, lows in the upper 50s.
- Wednesday: Warming to 75 with another sprinkle possible in the afternoon.
- Thursday: WRAL Weather Alert Day. Showers and thunderstorms possible. Highs in the mid 70s.
Rain chances on the rise this week
We have Spring weather, with highs in the 70s and a chance for rain, just about every afternoon this week in central North Carolina.
Scattered showers are possible Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Wednesday will be mostly cloudy and a few light showers will be possible. Highs will range between 72 and 78 degrees.
WRAL Weather Alert Day issued for Thursday
The best chance for rain and even thunderstorms comes Thursday afternoon, which is a WRAL Weather Alert Day.
A strong cold front will bring the chance of severe storms Thursday mid-afternoon through midnight. The northern portion of our area is under a Level 1 and areas from the Triangle southward are under a Level 2 risk for severe storms. In the Level 2 risk, which includes the Triangle, we will have a chance of isolated tornadoes, wind damage and heavy rain.
WRAL meteorolgist Kat Campbell said some areas could see 35 mph wind gusts when it isn't raining and storming on Thursday.
"Our in-house run of Futurecast is showing more isolated cells during the afternoon then a broken line later in the evening," Campbell said. "There isn't a ton of thunderstorm energy available so there is still a limiting factor in NC that we will continue to monitor. "
The outlook for the coming weekend looks clear and warm. We could reach 80 degrees on Sunday.
With all this warm weather, the flowers and trees are blooming – meaning pollen counts are high. If you're sneezing, that could be why!
7-day forecast for central NC
- Tuesday night: Mostly cloudy, lows in the upper 50s.
- Wednesday: Mostly cloudy skies with a slight chance for a few showers. High of 78.
- Thursday: WRAL Weather Alert Day. Showers and thunderstorms possible. Highs in the mid 70s.
- Friday: Breezy and cooler. High of 72.
- Saturday: Sunny with highs in the low 70s.
- Sunday: Partly cloudy and warmer. High of 83.
- Monday: Mostly sunny and still warm. Highs in the lower 80s.
Prepare for a busy 2024 Atlantic hurricane season forecast
Forecasters at Colorado State University are calling for 24 named storms in the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. That is higher than the average year, when 14 storms earn a name.
CSU forecasters say 11 storms will reach hurricane strength, up from the average of seven, and five of those hurricanes could be "major," that is Category 3, 4 or 5, with winds over 111 mph.
