Brace for a rude change in the weather today

Don't be fooled by this - Friday - morning's very mild temperatures in the mid-60s. Much cooler air is on the way today. As this post is penned yet another strong cold front is perched on the Virginia / West Virginia state line. A surface low pressure center will form along that boundary before lunch. That feature will then push a backdoor cold front through Mecklenburg County early this afternoon. 

The result will be high temperatures in the upper 70s just after the lunch hour, under mostly sunny skies and with gusty southwest winds. Clouds and showers will quickly move in by mid-afternoon, and those gusty breezes will swap around out of the northeast. The cooler air behind the boundary will drop temperatures into the upper 50s by sunset at 7:33 p.m.

There will be some welcome precipitation from this system, with a quarter- to a half-inch of liquid expected locally per this NWS Wakefield graphic:

This amount of rain won't do much to alleviate the drought conditions, but it will temporarily ease the spring pollen levels by scavenging those nose-offending particles out of the lower atmosphere.

Saturday will be rather chilly by late March standards. Temperatures look to begin the day in the upper 30s, only climbing into the low 50s under sunny skies. Gusty winds will continue out of the north all day tomorrow before finally easing off near sunset. 

Sunday will begin under clear skies, with local thermometers dropping to the freezing mark by dawn. Breezes will pick back up and swap around out of the south, opening the door to warmer air. With added help from strong March sunshine the afternoon hours will warm back into the lower 60s. Not a bad ending to the last weekend of the month!