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It won’t be a washout, but some football fans might have to deal with stormy weather Friday evening across the Charlotte region.
An advancing cold front is expected to set off showers and thunderstorms, a few of which might be strong. The good news is that Saturday, which had been expected to be wet, could turn out to be the driest day of the weekend.
And if you want to know about next week ... forget it! The details are too murky for an accurate forecast, meteorologists say.
Thousands of Charlotte-area residents will be in football stadium Friday evening. The largest crowd, of course, will be at Bank of America Stadium, watching the Carolina Panthers face the Miami Dolphins. Several thousand fans will be nearby, watching high school powerhouses Mallard Creek and Butler play at Memorial Stadium.
And at dozens of other stadiums across the area, high school football seasons will open tonight for teams.
Probably ...
Showers and storms are forecast to develop Friday afternoon in the mountains and then spill into the foothills and Piedmont. The most likely time for the arrival of stormy weather will be 4 to 5 p.m. in the foothills, and an hour or two later in the Piedmont.
The chance of damaging wind gusts and hail will be highest in the Piedmont, but the threat of lightning will exist in any of the storms.
Forecasters say unsettled weather probably will continue overnight, with scattered showers and storms into the early-morning hours.
The cold front, which had been expected to stall just east of the Charlotte area Saturday, now is forecast to move well south and east of the region -- far enough to take the precipitation threat with it. High temperatures, which will approach 90 degrees Friday, will be trimmed back 3 to 4 degrees Saturday.
The front is pegged to move back northward Sunday, which will mean a return of thunderstorm chances in the Charlotte area. Highs are only expected to reach the low and middle 80s.
Computer models differ widely on next week’s forecast, with some predictions for dry weather and others for wet conditions.
