Reinforcing shot of cold air moves into Triangle

"I'm the bearer of bad news when it comes to Saturday plans," Wilmoth said. "It will be beautiful today and Friday, but we've got another system headed our way that will bring up to 1 inch of rain to parts of the Triangle on Saturday."

Despite abundant sunshine, daytime high temperatures on Thursday will struggle to climb into the 40s behind the front. Winds will also increase as the front moves thorough, gusting from 10 to 20 mph during the afternoon.

Overnight lows will tumble into the low 20s early Friday, about 10 degrees below normal for mid-December. 

"We'll rebound a bit on Friday with highs in the upper 40s to near 50 degrees," Wilmoth said. "The first half of the day will be sunny and bright, but we'll start to see clouds build in late in the day."

By early Saturday, rain will begin filling in from the west. Chances for precipitation will increase dramatically by lunchtime, setting up a cool, dreary afternoon. Highs will struggle to reach the upper 40s. 

Showers will linger across the eastern part of the area on Sunday morning, but sunshine could peek through by late in the day. 

"Once this disturbance moves out, we'll be clear and cool again for the first half of next week," Wilmoth said.