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Cool temps, dreary weather going nowhere fast

The cool weather pattern that set up shop in central North Carolina almost two weeks ago is headed nowhere fast, WRAL meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner said Thursday.

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RALEIGH, N.C. — The cool weather pattern that set up shop in central North Carolina almost two weeks ago is headed nowhere fast, WRAL meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner said Thursday. 
High temperatures at Raleigh-Durham International Airport have been below normal 12 of the last 13 days. Temperatures on seven of those days were at least 10 degrees below normal. 

April 24 was the lone exception, when the mercury at RDU topped out at 77 degrees. The average high temperature for early May is 76 degrees.

"Temperatures have been running well below normal, and that trend is going to continue for at least the next week to 10 days," Gardner said. "It certainly didn't feel like the first day of May on Wednesday, as our high only reached 62 degrees."

Thursday's weather will fit perfectly with the recent pattern, with cloudy skies and spotty drizzle keeping temperatures in the mid-60s across much of the Triangle. 

Sunshine will return briefly Friday as highs climb into the low 70s, but the warm-up will be brief. 

"We have a steady flow coming in off the Atlantic Ocean, and it's bringing the moisture to give us clouds and drizzle," Gardner said. 

By early next week, a low pressure system spinning off the Gulf Coast will combine with a cold front marching across the Midwest to bring the Triangle a chance for showers.

Before the storms combine, areas in several Gulf Coast states could see 6 to 10 inches of rain. 

"All of it merges together and rolls into our area Monday," Gardner said. "We'll have a good chance for showers both Monday and Tuesday."

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