Warm and dry Saturday, but cooler and wet Sunday

Today - Friday - temperatures will warm from cold morning lows in the 20s to afternoon highs in the mid-40s. That's 8-10 degrees below the Mecklenburg County average for the second weekend of February. Two mitigating factors to alleviate the chilly feeling in the air will be abundant sunshine and very light winds.

High pressure sprawling across the eastern half of the nation will keep the weather settled through Saturday. Local thermometers will begin tomorrow morning in the upper 20s, but by the afternoon many areas will reach the 60º mark. With continued sunny skies and light winds tomorrow will be the bonus day of the Presidents' Day weekend.

However, that high pressure will slide off the East Coast Saturday night. Meanwhile, a very wet low pressure center will cross the Gulf Coast states on its way toward Cape Hatteras. The result will be a very wet Sunday afternoon and evening, with total forecast rain - yes, rain! - amounts shown here:

Precipitation looks to continue into Monday morning before tapering off. Afternoon temperatures both Sunday and Monday will top out in the low 50s.

Behind this storm system temperatures next week will rebound to above average readings. Between the upcoming rain and warmth any remaining snirt (snow + dirt) piles should disappear. That's good news!