A series of showers brought the threat of severe weather Tuesday afternoon to parts of central North Carolina. "The atmosphere is so chock full of moisture that thunderstorms could dump a lot of rain over a small area in a short period of time," said WRAL meteorologist Mike Maze.

According to the National Weather Service, penny- and dime-sized hail and winds of up to 45 mph were associated with the storms.

In areas that saw rain last week, the ground could be saturated and there is the threat of flash floods.

Maze said storms will remain spotty, and not everyone will see rain Tuesday.

The high temperature reached 84 degrees at Raleigh-Durham International Airport before the storms fired up. The forecast is similar for Wednesday and Thursday.

"We have a broad area of low pressure over the Southeast United States that kicked off the scattered showers and thunderstorm activity," said WRAL Chief Meteorologist Greg Fishel "This feature remains in the area tonight and for the day tomorrow so the chance for showers persists tonight and even more so tomorrow." More Info     See storms? Share your photos and video

But there is hope for the holiday weekend. A ridge of high pressure will move in Friday to dry and warm the air. Temperatures could reach the 90s for Saturday and Sunday as summer unofficially begins.