Patchy fog impacts morning commute Thursday

By 9 a.m., most of the fog had started to clear out. There were no dense fog advisories issued, but the low-lying clouds did give drivers around the Triangle reason to slow down. 

Once the fog clears out completely, temperatures will climb back into the mid-70s by lunchtime and close to 80 by mid-afternoon, still 10 to 15 degrees above normal for late March. The Triangle has seen temperatures above average 17 days this month, with that trend expected to continue, Gardner said. 

“We have a chance of thunderstorms, but it’s a lesser chance of storms than we had on Wednesday,” Gardner said. “They’ll be isolated and widely scattered if they happen at all.”

Strong storms rolled through parts of Pitt County Wednesday afternoon, hitting the town of Stokes with torrential rain and whipping wind. The storms downed power lines, damaged homes and leveled outbuildings.

On Friday, most of the area won’t have to worry about rain as skies remain partly cloudy and high temperatures top out near 80. The next good chance for precipitation comes Saturday morning when a low pressure system is expected to make its way into North Carolina.

Some of the area could see strong to severe thunderstorms as early as 5 a.m. Saturday.

“We’re already at an elevated risk for severe weather on Saturday,” Gardner said. “We’ll see this system, which is very slow moving, start to make its way into the area in the early morning hours."