Temperatures returning to normal in Charlotte

After days of colder weather, temperatures are expected to inch up to a normal 50 degrees Thursday and climb even higher this weekend.

The mercury stood at 36 degrees at Charlotte Douglas International Airport at 5 a.m. That’s chilly, but nowhere near the low 20s that hit the region earlier this week.

Thursday should be partly sunny before a slight chance of rain moves in Friday.

Rain chances will increase to 50 percent Saturday and 70 percent Saturday night before giving way to partly sunny skies Sunday and mostly sunny skies Monday, according to the National Weather Service in Greer, S.C.

Highs are forecast to reach 51 Friday, 54 Saturday and 58 Sunday.

Then temperatures will drop again as a cold front moves across the region Sunday and a Canadian air mass builds behind it Sunday night into Monday, according to the weather service.

Highs are expected to fall to 47 Monday and 46 Tuesday and Wednesday, with respective lows of 35 early Monday, 29 early Tuesday and 31 early Wednesday.

This story was originally published January 7, 2016 at 5:37 AM with the headline "Temperatures returning to normal in Charlotte."