Storm chances increase to end the week

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Unfortunately, these storms and leftover clouds this evening and tonight will make it difficult to see the lunar eclipse, which will start at 9:23 p.m. and peak at 12:12 a.m.

A front is expected to stall out to our northwest tomorrow and serve as the trigger for more thunderstorms. The WPC has highlighted the eastern part of the area in a slight (level 2 of 5) risk for flash flooding. CAMs and their ensembles have been particuraly aggressive on the 12z runs, with HREF and REFS mean precip values topping out around over 1.5 inches over the next 48 hours. Higher values will be possible, depending on where the front stalls out and repeated downpours. It is not out of the question that some localized amounts could be around 3-5 inches.

The front is expected to be off shore Saturday. This will make thunderstorms more isolated in nature, but nevertheless the chances will remain, especially closer to the beaches. We will especially need to watch for this activity in areas that see the most rain today and Friday, as localized flash flooding could still occur in those areas.

The signal in the long range continues to be bullish for a ridge setting up early next week. This will provide warmer temperatures, possibly pushing into heatwave criteria. We will need to watch for when the ridge breaks down, similar to earlier this summer when northwest flow allowed several complexes of thunderstorms to rotate around the periphery of the ridge. As the ridge breaks down, there will again be the possibly of this kind of setup, possibly as early as the middle of next week. We will keep on eye on this stretch,

Have a great evening!

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