Here's a look at yesterday's heat. These are the highs from selected cities.
RDU 89 degrees
Fayetteville: 91 degrees
Rocky Mt-Wilson: 89 degrees
Roanoke Rapids: 88 degrees
Greensboro: 88 degrees
Charlotte: 89 degrees
Wilmington: 88 degrees
Asheville: 86 degrees
It sure did feel like a summer afternoon Thursday until thunderstorms rolled through and cooled things off. The last time we had 90 degrees out at RDU was August 20th 2004. The last time we saw 89 degrees was August 28th 2004.
So what was up with the weather today? Where did the heat go? We had a cold front back down the East Coast last night and move to the south of North Carolina. We had a very shallow layer of cooler, drier air invade. This shallow air mass undercut the warm, moist air that was in place creating some weak rising motion. This in turn produced the overcast skies most of us saw today. The air mass and clouds kept the temperatures unseasonably cool.
The coolness is not going to last long however. The shallow air mass will erode tonight and tomorrow allowing for more sunshine. We also resume a southwest wind tomorrow afternoon. This combined with the sunshine should allow for a summer-like feel again for Saturday and Sunday. For you heat lovers this rise in summer-like heat will be cut short by a cold front Sunday afternoon. Once the front clears the area we will be back to Spring weather for likely all of next week.
High temperatures over the weekend will range in the low-mid 80s Saturday and Sunday. Monday through Friday of next week should see highs in the low-mid 70s!!!!!
