Another day of hot stickiness with plenty of rain on the horizon

Today - Wednesday - looks to be the hottest day of the rest of the work week. Afternoon temperatures will top out in the low to mid-90s around Mecklenburg County under mostly sunny skies. Combined with dew points in the mid-70s the heat index will climb over the triple digit mark again today.

Today also contains a couple of weather issues to contend with. Storm Prediction Center has the region blanketed under a Slight Risk - level 2 of 5 - for severe weather, with strong damaging winds from collapsing thunderstorms being the chief threat. Then, there is also a threat of flooding, with a Flood Watch posted for the area beginning at 2:00 p.m. this afternoon. This dual pane graphic illustrates:

The left pane is a Moderate flood risk painted by the Weather Prediction Center, while the right pane shows the extent of the Flood Watch (dark green shading) issued from the National Weather Service in Wakefield. A mitigating factor for local flooding threats may be the fact that recent deluges have mostly skirted around Mecklenburg County. Drier soil can absorb more liquid and thus reduce the flooding potential. However, folks should still be on their guard for rapidly rising water levels.

The short range weather models have tended to push off the storm threat for Mecklenburg County until after the dinner hour today. Showers and storms will continue into the nighttime hours with heavy rain possible. That said, folks should have eyes to the sky this afternoon in case convection fires a bit earlier than the model predictions. Keep more than one weather warning source (NOAA weather radio, cellphone apps, local TV/radio, etc) close at hand.

Thursday then looks to be cloudy and damp, with temperatures ranging from morning lows in the low 70s to afternoon highs in the upper 80s. More afternoon and evening thunderstorms are likely thanks to an upper level disturbance passing overhead.

The weekend could feature similar weather to today's (Wednesday's), with mostly sunny skies, highs in the 90s, and afternoon showers and thunderstorms.