Severe weather potential to begin the weekend

Thunderstorm clusters forming well west of the Appalachian mountains will have a say on Mecklenburg County's weather both Friday and Saturday. If those clusters hang together - which is not a certainty as of this moment - folks could see at least a couple rounds of strong to severe storms beginning this Friday afternoon. Reminder: folks should have at least two ways of receiving any weather warnings issued by the National Weather Service (NOAA weather radio, smartphone apps, local TV/radio, friends, etc). 

Here's the Storm Prediction Center outlook for Friday through dawn Saturday:

Note the darker shadings out west, signifying higher potential for severe weather out where those storm clusters will form. Virginia is under a Slight Risk (level 2 of 5), which covers the potential for strong storms both this afternoon and during the pre-dawn hours of Saturday. 

Meanwhile, temperatures will climb from this morning's mid- to upper 60s to near the 90º mark under sunny skies. The greatest storm potential looks to be during the late afternoon hours, but a lot of uncertainty is attached to this timing. A second round is expected well after midnight as remnants of another cluster (a Mesoscale Convective System) crosses the mountains. Possible threats include damaging winds, large hail, and even a small chance of a tornado, so having a way to hear warnings while folks are sleeping would be a good idea. (Outdoor sirens are just that...outdoors. They may not be audible inside a building.)

Saturday will begin with very sticky humidity and temperatures in the low 70s. Local thermometer readings will again top out near 90º tomorrow before a cold front presses through the area near sunset. Westerly winds will gust over 20 mph at times ahead of that boundary's arrival. 

Sunday looks to feature much quieter conditions, with sunny skies and afternoon highs in the mid-80s. Although those readings will be several degrees above the mid-May average, the post-cold front air will be much less humid. Thus Sunday will be a very pleasant spring day.