A December heat wave in Charlotte? Here’s the latest on the unseasonal temps.
Temperatures like Tuesday’s high of 51 degrees in Charlotte may be short-lived.
The weather is about to turn unseasonably warm, mirroring much of the rest of the United States, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The region’s severe drought is expected to linger, although Charlotte has a 50% chance of rain on three days this week. North Carolina remains under a burn until further notice.
The high in Charlotte is predicted to soar to 72 degrees by Saturday, according to the National Weather Service forecast at 5 p.m. Tuesday.
All parts of the Carolinas, except the extreme Western North Carolina mountains, have about a 50% chance of above-normal temperatures into the weekend, according to a NOAA forecast map.
In Charlotte, predicted highs could climb from 53 on Wednesday and 52 on Thursday to 62 on Friday and 72 on Saturday before dipping to 53 on Sunday and 56 on Monday, according to the NWS office in Greer, S.C. Tuesday should climb to a high of 60, forecasters said.
Charlotte’s averages a high of 52.9 degrees in December, according to WeatherAtlas. com. Its coldest month, January, averages a high of 48.7 degrees, according to the site.
The best chances of rain are forecast for early Wednesday and on Friday and Saturday, when the prospects of precipitation stand at 50%, NWS meteorologists said. Thursday should be mostly sunny before mostly cloudy skies return for the weekend.
The expected lack of rainfall means the region likely will remain in a severe drought, the third most intense of five drought rankings on the U.S. Drought Monitor map.
The Charlotte area is 7.13 inches below normal for precipitation, according to the NWS.
This story was originally published December 7, 2021 at 12:54 PM.