Pleasant weather continues through midweek

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- First Alert: Thunderstorm chances increase later this week. Locally heavy rain may lead to minor flash flooding Thursday and Friday.

A front is currently draped across eastern North Carolina this morning, while high pressure has settled into the Ohio Valley, promoting northerly surface flow. This will keep humidity at comfortable levels throughout the day. Temperatures will also be right at the historical average high of 88 degrees under mostly sunny skies.

A mainly clear sky will continue tonight, with lows falling into the mid-60s. Moisture will begin to increase again early Wednesday morning as winds shift southeasterly. A weak disturbance will also move through the region, helping to spark a few spotty thunderstorms late Wednesday afternoon and into Wednesday night.

More widespread thunderstorm activity is expected on Thursday as a cold front approaches the region. Dew points will climb back into the 70s, providing ample moisture for drenching thunderstorms. Storms may also train over the same areas, increasing the risk for flooding where repeated heavy downpours occur.

The thunderstorm risk will continue into Friday as the front moves through the state. The boundary may take until Saturday to fully clear the region, keeping at least some thunderstorm potential around into the start of the weekend.

Heading into early next week, conditions look drier overall. However, with southerly flow remaining in place, humidity will persist. Temps will climb back into the 90s.

Tropics: For the North Atlantic...Caribbean Sea and the Gulf:

1. Central Subtropical Atlantic (AL95):
An area of low pressure located a couple of hundred miles
east-northeast of Bermuda is moving northward at 15 to 20 mph.
Recent scatterometer wind data suggests that the center of
circulation is broad and elongated, and the associated shower
activity remains disorganized. This system could still become a
short-lived tropical depression or storm later today before
encountering increasingly hostile conditions tonight and Wednesday,
likely ending its chances for development.
* Formation chance through 48 hours...medium...40 percent.
* Formation chance through 7 days...medium...40 percent.

2. Eastern Tropical Atlantic (AL96):
An area of low pressure centered a few hundred miles south-southeast
of the Cabo Verde Islands is producing disorganized showers and
thunderstorms. Environmental conditions appear conducive for gradual
development, and this system is likely to become a tropical
depression during the next few days while it moves westward to
west-northwestward across the eastern and central tropical Atlantic.
Environmental conditions could become less conducive for development
by the weekend.
* Formation chance through 48 hours...medium...60 percent.
* Formation chance through 7 days...high...70 percent.

Have a great day!
Cruz Medina