Showers to pick up as weekend begins

"It will be cloudy tonight but remain mild," Johnson said. "We are seeing some hit-and-miss showers even before the sun has set."

Rain chances increase through the evening, and rain could be heavy through Saturday morning, Johnson said.

A bigger area of moisture will push into the Triangle ahead of a strong cold front Saturday, and rain is likely throughout the day.

"This cold front is going to have a fairly big impact on us Saturday. It's going to be a soaker of a day," said WRAL meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner.

After a lull in the precipitation, the front will change mild showers to thunderstorms late Saturday afternoon and into the evening.

"We're in an elevated risk," Johnson said. "The biggest threat from any strong thunderstorms will be straight-line winds."

The National Weather Service said the best chance for damage-producing storms will be between 2 and 8 p.m.

By the time the front and moisture move out of the area on Sunday, some places could have accumulated 1.5 to 2 inches of rain.

Highs Sunday will retreat into the 50s, but beautiful weather is on tap for the beginning and middle of next week.

"We're going to be in the upper 60s and low 70s on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday," Gardner said.