Warm Friday but seasonally cool for the weekend

Today - Friday - looks to be cloudy and warm, but with only a very scanty chance of showers. A mostly dry cold front will take its sweet time pushing across Mecklenburg county. Said front is still crossing the Appalachians as this is written, with the boundary finally arriving after dark this evening. Temperatures today will top out in the upper 70s accompanied by gusty southwesterly breezes.

Saturday will begin under cloudy skies, with morning temperatures dipping into the mid-50s. Skies will gradually clear tomorrow as cooler air filters in behind the boundary. Local thermometers will top out in the mid-60s, right at the average for the first weekend of November. Sunday will then be sunny with afternoon highs again in the mid-60s. (NOTE: Remember to ensure timepieces reset to Eastern Standard Time Saturday night. It's "Fall Back" time again!)

As referenced in Wednesday's blogpost the Drought Monitor came out yesterday showing a major increase in the dry conditions across Virginia.

Most areas haven't seen any significant rain since the tropical remnants of Helene came through at the end of September. Locally this is evident in the dropping water levels of Buggs Island Lake / Kerr Reservoir as shown on this graph:

One can only hope that this dryness will change as winter approaches, but indications over the next ten days or so aren't very optimistic.