Warm front to bring rain, storms Friday

WRAL Weather

Friday's system, a warm front that is moving in from the south and west, could bring rain to the Triangle by late morning and thunderstorms to the area during the afternoon hours.

A line of storms associated with the system began crossing the border from South Carolina into southern counties around 7 a.m. 

Warm air was streaming into North Carolina from the south ahead of the showers to follow. By noon, Gardner said, some parts of the Triangle could see some light rain, and scattered showers will dominate the afternoon.

High temperatures Friday will top out near 70 degrees by mid-afternoon, about 10 degrees cooler than Thursday's high.

As the sun begins to set, storms could kick up. "We're going to be watching out for the potential for some of these thunderstorms to turn severe," she said.

By Friday night, rain chances will taper off as the warm front moves out ahead of a cold front that will pass through central North Carolina early Saturday. 

Central North Carolina is under an elevated risk for severe weather both Friday and Saturday, but the better chance for the Triangle to see severe storms and even an isolated tornado will come Saturday morning, Gardner said. 

"Once this cold front gets close to the area, we could really see our chances for severe weather go up," Gardner said. "We could have damaging straight line winds, hail and even isolated tornadoes. The winds and hail are the biggest threats right now."

Rain chances will increase throughout the morning Saturday, with the best chances for severe weather coming between 7 a.m. and lunchtime, Gardner said.

High temperatures will top out in the mid-to-upper 60s by early morning before falling once the front clears. 

Partly cloudy skies return to the forecast Sunday as temperatures return to the mid-50s. By Monday and Tuesday morning, low temperatures will be back in the upper 20s and low 30s.