Friday will be stormy and wet as deep freeze returns

Weather around Charlotte will be wet, windy and warm Friday, with a deep freeze just a day away.

A potent front races across the region Friday, producing heavy, gusty showers with isolated strong thunderstorms during the late afternoon and evening hours. Although showers are possible at any point, the window for downpours and potential damaging wind appears to be between about 2 and 8 p.m.

The storms are expected to move in from west to east, so starting in the mountains and pushing through the Piedmont and then exiting the Sandhills last. Temperatures will remain mild in the 60s to low 70s and southerly wind gusts will be strong all day long.

By the time the rain winds down Friday night, most of the Piedmont should have picked up a solid inch, while mountain communities could pick up two or three times that amount.

By the weekend, cooler weather will filter in as we dry out. Sunshine returns on Saturday with chillier 40s making a return through Sunday and Martin Luther King Day with overnight lows dipping into the 20s.

This story was originally published January 12, 2018 at 6:35 AM with the headline "Friday will be stormy and wet as deep freeze returns."