Near record heat today...Emily heads for Hispaniola

Some highs from yesterday:

Fayetteville:101
Burlington: 99
Gastonia: 98
Wilmington: 98
RDU: 97
Charlotte: 96
Greensboro: 94

Here is today's edition of the video...I talk about a day today of near-record warmth, some storm chances ahead, signs of a big pattern change next week, and where Emily is headed.

A hot day is on tap again today, and afternoon highs will warm to near record levels. Most areas in the Piedmont will top out in the upper 90s to lower 100s. Again today, the humidity will stay in check, so heat index values will remain close to the actual temps.

We should remain dry today, but this evening and tonight could feature a few showers or storms as a cold front approaches from the north. That front will then stall out close to our area, giving us the chance of a couple of storms tomorrow and then better storm chances Friday into the weekend.

Highs Friday into the weekend will likely be held in check somewhat due to more clouds and storms....probably lower 90s.

Don't look now, but I see signs next week of a wholesale pattern change. If this change occurs, the significant heat will shift into the western US with some 'cooler' weather for the eastern part of the country settling in. We shall see.

Emily...

Tropical Storm Emily is passing south of Puerto Rico this morning and will head over Hispaniola tonight. From there, Emily will head into the Bahamas and then make a pretty close pass to the Florida and Carolina coasts. Whether or not Emily will make an actual US landfall is still uncertain. The most likely scenario is that the center stays a little offshore, but that can't be guaranteed.

Either way, I doubt Emily can become overly intense, so this is probably one of those systems where we actually want to see it attempt to make a landfall....coastal parts of the region need all of the rain they can get.