Warmer Tuesday

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- A generally quiet weather pattern is on tap for the week ahead. Dry weather is forecast to hold across the state at least through the middle of the week. Generally clear skies, especially south of the Triangle, for the first part of tonight will allow temperatures to fall quickly at sunset. There will be some clouds across the northern part of the state this evening which is associated with system moving east across the Great Lakes. A system over eastern Texas will move eastward tonight and tomorrow, pushing some clouds into the area later tonight and those clouds will continue to increase tomorrow. While clouds from this system will be a problem for the region, rain will not. The rain from this system stays well south of us and moves across Florida.

As this system continues to move east Wednesday, clouds will move away and the afternoon turns out partly sunny.

Temperatures tomorrow will rise into the mid to upper 50s which is a little above average for this time of year. Tomorrow will be the mildest day of this week.

Colder air will return Wednesday as the gulf coast system moves slowly east of Florida and then stalls. This system may have to be dealt with on Friday, but more on that later. Temperatures Wednesday will be hard pressed to make it higher than the lower 40s. High pressure off the New England
coast Thursday will provide the region with plenty of sunshine. This area of high pressure is of Arctic origin and like Wednesday, temperatures Thursday will once again struggle into the lower 40s. A cold front pushing south through Canada and into the Midwest will approach the Triangle Friday. The combination of the approaching front and an easterly flow pushing Atlantic moisture into the Carolinas will result in a cloudy, chilly day. This Atlantic moisture is associated with the system that crosses Florida Wednesday and lingers off the coast. The best chance for rain Friday will be along the coast but we will not
be surprised if the rain backs all the way into central North Carolina.

As the Midwest front reaches the coast Friday night, low pressure might get organized along the coast further increasing the chances of rain getting back into the Triangle. If the colder air is far enough south and east by that time to allow the precipitation to fall as snow, especially west of of the Triangle. If a low does form along the North Carolina coast Friday night and heads northeast, the first part of the weekend is likely to be blustery with well below normal temperatures. More questions than answers today. Stay tuned!

Have a great evening!

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