Wednesday chill comes with first fall freeze in sight

Almost every town around central North Carolina woke up to temperatures in the low to mid-40s, and the mercury around Raleigh only rose to 45 degrees by noon, though Fayetteville hit the 50-degree mark. The lunchtime temperatures were down at least 16 degrees from the same time on Tuesday.

A light drizzle accompanied the cool, midday temperatures, too. WRAL meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner said the rain will remain patchy through the afternoon and won't be a problem for the evening commute.

A layer of clouds hovering over central North Carolina will help to hold in some of the heat coming up from the earth, so temperatures won't drop much further. But even that cloudy blanket won't make it feel cozy.

"It's not very warm out there, even though (the clouds are) holding in whatever heat is left," Gardner said.

The cold front that brought the chill moved into South Carolina and will linger there for some time. Light rain and drizzle are possible on Wednesday, but even when the system blows over and the sun comes out, the cold will remain.

"As a matter of fact, even once this system moves on out and we return to sunshine Friday and Saturday, our temperatures still won't be that much warmer," Gardner said.

If Wednesday isn't cold enough, though, Gardner said the first fall freeze is expected to come on Friday night when temperatures dip to 30 degrees.