Ahhhh......

It feels great out there. If it were up to me, this is the type of summertime weather I would sign up for. Today will be terrific with sunshine and highs in the low to mid 80s. Humidity levels will be very low through the day as well.

Tonight will be a bit on the cool side by July standards, but it will feel refreshing....another good night to open up the windows. Lows around the Piedmont will drop into the mid to upper 50s...record lows might even be challenged at Charlotte and Raleigh.

Humidity levels will remain low through the holiday weekend with highs in the mid 80s tomorrow and up close to 90 for the Fourth. There will be no weather problems at all for all of the fireworks displays Sunday evening.

If you are heading to the coast, look for sunshine and warm temps. Up in the mountains, expect sunshine with cool nights and comfortably warm afternoons.

Next week, it will get hotter and muggier again with low to mid 90s and lows increasing toward the upper 60s and lower 70s with time.

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Wonderful weather!

Absolutely wonderful weather conditions are settling into the region today. We will see lots of sunshine through the day, and highs will only reach into the low to mid 80s. Add to that mixture much lower levels of humidity, and the result is terrific conditions.

It will be comfortably cool tonight with a clear sky. I feel many Piedmont locations will wind up in the upper 50s to around 60 early Friday morning.

A delightful Friday will then ensue with sunshine, low to mid 80s for highs, and low humidity.

It will get a bit warmer as the weekend unfolds, and for Independence Day on Sunday, many highs will warm to around 90. However, humidity levels will remain on the low side, so it will still feel pretty good to be outside. For all of the fireworks displays Friday evening, no problems...look for a primarily clear sky with evening temps falling through the 80s and into the 70s.

Alex....

Alex made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane with 105mph sustained winds around 10:30 eastern time yesterday evening. The pressure was all of the way down to 947mb, and Alex was rapidly strengthening in the system's final hours prior to landfall. Alex is now the strongest June hurricane wince Audrey in 1957.

The system continues to weaken in Mexico, and the threat from Alex is flooding in northern and central Mexico into southern Texas.

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Relief has arrived!....Hurricane Alex set to make landfall...

The big weather story around our region is the end of the hot weather pattern that we have been in the grips of for most of June. Yesterday was a fairly unsettled day with lots of showers and storms through the southern Piedmont over into the coastal Plain. Today, that zone of rain chances shifts every so slightly southward as cooler and drier air begins the process of working in.

For the Triad, most spots should have a dry day, although a few showers are possible in southern sections of the viewing area. For the Charlotte region, some showers and storms are possible, but the farther south and east you go, the more widespread the activity should become.

Highs today will only be in the low to mid 80s....a welcome change!

Tomorrow and Friday look simply terrific....highs in the lower 80s tomorrow, low to mid 80s Friday. Both days will feature lots of sunshine and low humidity values.

For the Independence Day weekend, it still looks nice with mid to upper 80s for highs and lots of sunshine.

The forecast gets a bit more complicated next week as a coastal low might try to form in addition to some warmer temps trying to move in from the west.

Hurricane Alex....

Alex continues to strengthen this morning. As of the 5am advisory, Alex was a Category 1 hurricane with 80mph sustained winds. Alex could become a Category 2 hurricane prior to its northern Mexico landfall tonight.

Flooding will likely be a big problem in northern Mexico into parts of Texas and Louisiana.

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One more hot day...Alex strengthening...

What a scorcher yesterday....mid to upper 90s for most of the region....even a few 100 degree readings.

Today will still be fairly hot with highs in the lower 90s for most. A few showers and storms will again be possible today, and the greatest coverage will likely be the farther south and east you go in the region.

Much cooler air will begin arriving tomorrow, and highs will be in the lower 80s in many spots. Tomorrow will feature a good deal of clouds, and some passing showers or storms are possible from time to time.

The weather looks delightful Thursday through the Independence Day weekend with 80s for highs and lower 60s for lows....maybe even some upper 50s in spots. Humidity values will be much lower...all in all, terrific weather ahead!

Alex....

Alex is just below the hurricane threshold as of the 5am advisory this morning with 70mph sustained winds. Alex will likely become a hurricane later today.

It still looks like Alex will come ashore relatively close to the Texas/ Mexico border as a hurricane...likely overnight tomorrow night.

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Major pattern chance right around the corner...Alex strengthening...

Some big weather changes this week around here...plus I discuss Alex in detail in today's video....



We will have another day of heat and humidity today, but some major weather changes are just around the corner. But first, another steamy day today with highs in the mid 90s and heat index values exceeding 100 degrees at times this afternoon.

A strong cold front is approaching the region, and out ahead of that front, we will see some scattered showers and storms this afternoon and evening. Storms could produce damaging winds and lots of lightning.

That front will temporarily stall out in our region tomorrow into Wednesday, and I will continue to mention the chance of a few showers and storms both of those days, although the farther south and east you go, the greater the coverage of showers and storms will be.

Relief!

Highs Wednesday will only be in the 80s, and then Thursday into the upcoming weekend look terrific with 80s for highs, lower 60s for lower, and low levels of humidity. I still feel some spots could wind up in the upper 50s for lows later in the week.

For the Fourth on Sunday, warm and dry with highs in the 80s.

Alex...

Alex is strengthening this morning, and I feel the system will become a hurricane relatively soon. In fact, it is possible Alex could become a major hurricane over the next few days. Alex will make an eventual landfall likely on the Texas or Mexican coast.

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Quick Sunday morning Alex thoughts...

Alex is inland over the Yucatan this morning, and the system has actually gotten more organized structurally while over land. The more Alex maintains its inner core while over land, the quicker strengthening will occur once over the Gulf of Mexico. All indications are that we will see Alex as a strengthening system over the Gulf.

In terms of Alex's next landfall, the models are really divided into two camps this morning. The GFS and Canadian model take Alex northward toward the upper Texas or even Louisiana coast, while most other models take Alex more westward into Mexico.

The eventual track of Alex will all depend on the specifics up the upper air pattern over the US later this week. The big change in our weather coming this week in our weather has to do with a significant trough digging into the eastern US. The specifics of how this pattern sets up will determine Alex's eventual track.

Interesting to watch. I want to see how the models behave today before really trying to commit to one idea or the other.

Enjoy your Sunday. I might wind up posting something else later today, but if not, I will have a full post and video bright and early in the morning...

Below is this morning's spread in computer model guidance....

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