Afternoon storms bring heavy rain, chance of strong wind

The first of the pair of storms did not bring any severe weather to the Triangle, but did create some scattered storms to the north and strong thunderstorms near the border between North Carolina and Virginia.

"This actually worked out pretty well," said WRAL meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner. "This is exactly what we were expecting to happen."

A cold front on Thursday that's following the Wednesday storms will bring a chance of scattered thunderstorms later in the afternoon and evening. The front will shift offshore on Friday to bring back better weather.

Variably cloudy skies should dominate the morning, and the region should stay rain-free during that time. The patchy thunderstorms begin to creep in around mid-afternoon, affecting the Triangle area and counties to the north.

"What we're going to see with these storms today is some heavy rain," Gardner said. "There's a slight chance that we're going to have some wind damage or some hail with these storms, and then it all quiets down."

Following the wet weather, temperatures are expected to cool off for the next several days with highs topping out in the 70s instead the 80s most saw during the early part of the week.

Friday and the majority Saturday will remain dry before the chance for more rain returns to the forecast Saturday night and Sunday.