Enjoy the "cool" break early this week

A backdoor cold front pushed south and west through Virginia overnight, swapping winds around out of the east. Coastal areas will be much cooler than inland sites like Mecklenburg County both Monday (today) and Tuesday. Locally, forecast highs in the upper 80s this afternoon look reasonable, especially given clear skies with plentiful June sunshine. 

However, as that cool air from off the Atlantic works its way further inland, Tuesday may not get that warm. Hints from a couple of forecast models which tend to have a better handle on these cold air damming events indicate that tomorrow afternoon's highs may be closer to 80º rather than the upper 80s. Skies will be a bit cloudier Tuesday as well.

There will be a greater chance for showers and thunderstorms as the week progresses, especially given a steady increase in heat and humidity. Meanwhile, here's a look at the rainfall departures from normal for the month of May (Mecklenburg County is circled in black):

This certainly didn't help the drought situation locally! 

Per the NWS Wakefield spring weather discussion, average temperatures for the period March thru May wound up well above normal thanks to very warm conditions in March and April. This was despite May being right around average.