Rain’s in the weekend forecast after Charlotte hit two weather records. What’s next?
Charlotte set a weather record and tied another one on Friday, a National Weather Service meteorologist said.
The morning low of 59 degrees surpassed the previous mark of 55 set in 2015, meteorologist Clay Chaney of the NWS office in Greer, S.C., told The Charlotte Observer.
And Friday’s high of 73 tied the record set in 1956, Chaney said.
Unseasonably warm weather should linger on Saturday, with an expected high of 72, according to the NWS forecast.
That’s 3 degrees below the record for Dec. 18 set in 1984, Chaney said.
Storms are expected in Charlotte this weekend, and while temps should be spring-like on Saturday, keep the sweaters and heavy coats handy, forecasters said.
Winds are expected to pick up on Saturday, with gusts reaching 22 mph, NWS meteorologists said.
Mecklenburg County and most of the surrounding North Carolina counties remain in a severe drought, the third most intense of five drought rankings on the U.S. Drought Monitor map. Charlotte is 7.29 inches below normal for precipitation this year, NWS data show.
Daytime highs should then begin to drop into the 50s, which is normal this time of year, according to the NWS forecast.
And in case you’re wondering, there’s no snow anywhere in the forecast.
The best chance for the fluffy stuff might have been late Sunday and early Monday, when an overnight low of 31 degrees is forecast. But skies are expected to be relatively clear, with no precipitation, according to the NWS.
While Sunday could see gusts of up to 18 mph, the rain is expected to have already moved out, meteorologists said.
The NWS predicts highs of 61 on Sunday, 48 Monday, 50 on Tuesday and 56 Wednesday and 54 Thursday, the forecast shows.
The Christmas Eve forecast shows mostly sunny skies, with a high near 56.
This story was originally published December 17, 2021 at 11:42 AM.