Rain headed Charlotte’s way by Thursday night
Rain is expected to move into the Charlotte region by Thursday night and remain through Saturday, bringing some relief to parched areas of the Piedmont.
Temperatures already have cooled since Wednesday, with Thursday’s high expected to reach only 72, or 7 degrees below normal for the first days of fall.
With clouds and rain heading in from the coast, highs will hit only 70 Friday and Saturday, according to the latest National Weather Service forecast.
The Charlotte area has a 70 percent chance of rain Thursday night, an 80 percent chance Friday and Friday night, a 60 percent chance Saturday and 50 percent chance Saturday night. Thursday morning and afternoon are expected to remain mostly cloudy.
The likelihood of rain drops to 30 percent Sunday, with mostly cloudy conditions Monday and some sun on Tuesday.
The U.S. Drought Monitor lists six counties just west of Mecklenburg as being in severe drought, including Gaston, Lincoln, Catawba and Cleveland counties.
Joe Marusak: 704-358-5067, @jmarusak
This story was originally published September 24, 2015 at 5:59 AM with the headline "Rain headed Charlotte’s way by Thursday night."