Triangle Temps Go On Roller-Coaster Ride

After hitting a high of 81 degrees Friday, temperatures plummeted into the low 50s and high 40s across the region Saturday morning – and kept on dropping.

At 6 a.m., Raleigh stood at 53 degrees. By noon, clouds had moved in, light rain was falling, and the temperature hung at 42 degrees.

Chapel Hill experienced a more dramatic drop, going from 56 degrees at 6 a.m. to 41 degrees at noon. 

"It's like that when you get to spring time, you get out of winter, and you start getting some of those warmer air masses," WRAL Meteorologist Mike Moss said.

A cold front arrived from the northeast Saturday to replace southwesterly winds that had warmed the Triangle since mid-week, Moss said. The front was likely to keep temperatures from recovering beyond the low 50s Saturday afternoon.

"Tomorrow (Sunday) may be even cooler," Moss said, with high ranging from the mid 40s to 50 degrees. "It is going to be well below normal temperature-wise as we finish out the weekend."

Saturday will also see a chance of occasional stray sprinkles and light showers.

And Sunday, rainfall accumulations between five-hundredths and a quarter of an inch are possible, Moss said. "We'll see cloudy skies continue, with a little better chance of occasional light or, on occasion, moderate rain," he added.

After its swift drop, the roller-coaster ride will continue with a return to heights early in the work-week.

"There will be warmer air sitting off to our south and west," Moss said. "We'll start to feel that a little bit as we get into the beginning of the week, more so by the time we get to Tuesday."

Temperatures will rise to highs of 65 degrees on Monday and 74 degrees on Tuesday.