Tropical Depression Fred could dump heavy rain in Charlotte area. Here’s what we know.
Tropical Depression Fred could dump heavy rain near Charlotte early next week, a National Weather Service meteorologists said Friday.
The Florida Keys were under a tropical storm warning on Friday. At 8 a.m., the center of Fred was near the north coast of Cuba, packing 35 mph winds, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
Tropical depressions pack winds no greater than 38 mph, according to the National Weather Service.
Fred is expected to track into the eastern Gulf of Mexico this weekend and into the Southeast early next week, Hurricane Center officials said.
“Heavy rainfall looks like the main concern for the western Carolinas and northeast Georgia,” meteorologists with the National Weather Service office in Greer, S.C., posted on Twitter at 5 a.m. Friday.
The amount of rain that could pummel the western Carolinas remained uncertain on Friday, according to the center.
By sunrise Monday, a wedge of cold air could keep Charlotte area temperatures in the 70s during the day, according to a weather forecast bulletin issued by the weather service at 3:30 a.m. Friday.
“Deep tropical moisture is poised to run up from the south ahead of the circulation associated with Fred,” NWS meteorologists said in the bulletin.
Heavy rain is likely the first half of the week in the Charlotte area, Upstate South Carolina, and the N.C. foothills and mountains, according to the bulletin.
“Some of the latest guidance shows Fred weakening inland long before it would make it this far north, but at that point it might be academic,” according to the bulletin. “Even if the circulation of Fred was washed out, we would still probably have all the ingredients we need for heavy rain ... from Monday into Wednesday.”
Charlotte has an 80% chance of showers throughout Monday and Tuesday, with respective forecast highs of 79 and 82, according to the latest NWS forecast at 8 a.m. Friday.
Highs of 95, 93, and 86 are predicted for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, according to the NWS. The chance of showers is slight on Friday and 50% on Saturday, NWS meteorologists said.
This story was originally published August 13, 2021 at 10:33 AM.