Cloudy, rainy week ahead

But succeeding systems will keep the rain falling and temperatures see-sawing this week.

Some places even heard some thunder and saw lightning strikes as "a fairly sizable area of rain and some heavier showers" moved across central and eastern North Carolina Sunday morning, WRAL Meteorologist Mike Moss said.

By mid morning, more than a half-inch of rain had fallen in Raleigh and over a third in Chapel Hill and Burlington. Roxboro led the way with more than three-quarters of an inch.

Cloudy skies continued in the afternoon.

Fog and light drizzle developed overnight, and a small chance of showers lingered Monday afternoon.

But a cold front will come in Tuesday evening, bringing with it the potential for lots of rain. The Triangle could see a couple inches of rain from the front, WRAL Meteorologist Kim Deaner said.

The National Weather Service says up to 3 inches is possible and minor flooding could occur in low-lying and urban areas through Wednesday.

Meanwhile, temperatures will be doing their own song-and-dance.

Highs will stay mild for a while but plummet from around 60 degrees Monday to the low 40s on Tuesday.

Wednesday will see a respite, with temperatures returning to the 50s, but a cold front will quickly dash hopes of a warm-up: Highs will be back down in the 40s Thursday.

Heavy rain could lead to some mixed precipitation as overnight lows dip into the 30s and 20s on Wednesday and Thursday nights, Deaner said.