Charlotte set record daily high temps this week, NWS says. Cooler weather ahead.
Charlotte set two daily high temperature records this week before a cold front returns more seasonal, cooler temps to the region, according to the National Weather Service.
By early Tuesday afternoon, Charlotte already matched the record daily high for March 10 of 82 degrees, forecaster Andrew Kimball said.
The NWS Charlotte forecast page showed a high of 86 degrees at 2 p.m. The NWS later reported that Charlotte broke the record, reaching 87 degrees.
The record daily high of 82 was set in 1974, Kimball said.
And Wednesday’s high of 86 degrees broke the record daily high for March 11 of 83 degrees, set in 2015, 2009 and 1990, Kimball said.
Charlotte broke the March 11 record when the temperature reached 84 degrees at 1:50 p.m., NWS meteorologists said on social media.
The monthly record high for March is 91 degrees, set on March 23, 1907, the meteorologist said. Charlotte hit 90 degrees at least three times over the decades, he said.
Winter’s expected return
A dramatic temperature drop is expected later in the week.
“Winter isn’t over yet,” National Weather Service forecasters posted on social media Tuesday.
A rainy cold front is forecast to drop highs by at least 20 degrees, to 65 on Thursday and 61 on Friday, according to the NWS Charlotte forecast.
Temperature swings “are a common feature of spring weather patterns, to have these cold fronts from the northwest,” Kimball told The Charlotte Observer.
Thursday has a 90% chance of showers, mainly before 1 p.m., with the temperature expected to fall to around 50 by 5 p.m. according to the NWS. Friday should be sunny, with a high near 61.
Highs are forecast to bounce around again this weekend and early next week, with highs near 71 on Saturday, 74 on Sunday, 68 on Monday, 50 on Tuesday and 52 on Wednesday, the forecast showed.
After a mostly sunny Saturday and mostly cloudy Sunday, rain is likely on Monday, mainly before 2 p.m., forecasters said. Sunny to mostly sunny skies are forecast on Tuesday and Wednesday.
This story was originally published March 10, 2026 at 2:46 PM.