Windy and Warm Thursday

Pretty impressive winds across the Carolinas...in the Triad area, winds have been gusting between 40 and 50mph this afternoon. For the Charlotte region, wind gusts between 30 and 40mph have been common. Those windy, dry conditions have fanned the flames of a major fire in Raleigh this afternoon. I have been watching our sister News 14 Carolina station in Raleigh covering the fire this afternoon....winds have been really hindering the fire extinguishing efforts.

By the way, the peak wind gust registered today on the new anemometer atop the Swinging Bridge at Grandfather Mountain was 93mph!

Along with the winds, the warmth has been impressive as well...many folks were up into the lower 70s today.

Still watching the weekend system. Models are wanting to really hold on to the cooler, stable air across much of North Carolina Sunday...I am not fully convinced of that scenario yet, but I am not quite as concerned about the possibility of severe weather as I was a couple of days ago. Could change though....