A brief reintroduction to the 80s before turning cooler over the weekend

Thought the 80s were finished for 2026? Nope! This (Friday) afternoon there's a good chance that Mecklenburg County thermometers will climb to that mark. Thanks to high pressure overhead providing clear skies and light winds, the late October sunshine will heat the area to well above average temperatures. That's before a dry cold front pushes through by the dinner hour.

Much cooler air behind that boundary will make its way into the area overnight. Saturday then looks almost chilly in comparison, with highs in the mid-60s being just about the average for late October. The morning hours will be mostly sunny, but clouds will be on the increase tomorrow afternoon. For those Halloween trick-or-treaters temperatures will drop to the 60º mark by sunset at 6:17 p.m.

The other item to factor in on Saturday night is the switch back to Eastern Standard Time (EST). Officially this occurs at 2:00 a.m. Sunday morning...which then instantly becomes 1:00 a.m., thus gaining back the hour lost in the spring to Daylight Saving Time. Most modern timepieces will change automatically, but for those that don't:

For a bit this past week it looked like Sunday could bring some rain, but that no longer appears likely. The latter weekend day will begin with sunrise at 6:37 a.m. EST at the Buggs Island Lake / Kerr Reservoir dam, and temperatures will be in the low 40s. Skies will be only partly sunny with easterly winds bringing in low clouds from off the Atlantic. After afternoon highs again topping out in the mid-60s the first sunset of November will then occur at 5:16 p.m.

Happy Halloween!