Rain and storms on Wednesday, then cooler for the end of the week

An upper level low pressure center pinwheeling over the Great Lakes region fostered multiple tornado reports west of the Appalachians on Tuesday. A possible derecho crossed West Virginia before dissipating as it slammed into the cold air damming wedge parked over the Old Dominion. That same system is pumping rain into Mecklenburg county this morning, keeping a stationary front in place between U.S. Routes 460 and 58. Local temperatures are 10-15 degrees warmer this morning than in areas along Rte 460.

A cold front associated with this system will push eastward today, triggering strong and even severe storms. This Storm Prediction Center graphic shows their thoughts about this setup, with Mecklenburg county residing in a level 2 of 5 outlook for severe weather:

The threats to Mecklenburg county include damaging straight line winds and large hail. The chances of a tornado are slim, but not zero. The timing looks to be early afternoon into the dinner hour. Stay tuned to multiple sources of weather warnings today.

Temperatures today will top out in the low 70s today, accompanied by southerly breezes gusting over 25 mph. Winds could gust even higher in or near strong storms. After the cold front passes winds will shift around to the west and cooler air will drop into the area. Thursday then looks to be cooler with afternoon highs only near 60, with a westerly wind gusting up to 25 mph.

The weekend will be dry but cooler than average. More on that in Friday's blogpost.