Forecast Last Updated at Monday, December 17, 2018 at 11:39AM

Welcome Drying Continues

A quiet, dry period continues through midweek. Expect plenty of sunshine today and Tuesday, although more high cloudiness will stream into the area during midweek. Temperatures will run a few clicks above normal. Rain returns on Thursday, continuing into Friday before ending. Weekend weather looks dry for a change.

The 2019 Blue Ridge Parkway Calendar is in stock featuring winners from our yearly photo contest. December 18th is the last day to place an online order and ensure delivery before Christmas. Get yours at RaysMarketplace.Com, or from one of the many local retailers. This year's feature is Waterfalls along the Parkway. Enjoy!

Monday Hi: 58 Lo: 28 Mostly sunny; Rather nice for mid-December; Light NW wind

Tuesday Hi: 54 Lo: 29 Bright sunshine; Seasonably pleasant; Calm wind

Wednesday Hi: 52 Lo: 36 Patchy fog early; Filtered sunshine; Slightly above-normal temperatures; Light & variable wind

Thursday Hi: 51 Lo: 39 Overcast with rain developing

Friday Hi: 51 Lo: 31 Generally cloudy with rain ending late in the day; Decreasing cloudiness Friday night

Further Out

Saturday - Mostly sunny; Nicest Saturday in a while; High in the upper 40s; Low in the upper 20s
Sunday - Mostly sunny; Rather pleasant; High in the lower 50s; Low in the lower 30s

Forecast Discussion

High pressure will provide a quiet reprieve heading into midweek along with seasonably pleasant temperatures for mid-December. An increasing canopy of high cloudiness will start to overspread western North Carolina during Wednesday.

Low-pressure developing in the lower Mississippi Valley on Thursday will track northeastward to a position over the Central Appalachians early Friday morning, then on into southeastern Ontario by early Saturday.

Rain will overspread the mountains and Foothills on Thursday, lasting into a portion of Friday before ending. Rainfall of around an inch will be a good bet with this next dynamic system. We expect all rain for the Foothills, although NC mountain areas will probably end the precipitation as snow or snow showers Friday night.

Behind the storm, we’ve got a seasonably cool but sunshine-filled weekend-before-Christmas scheduled. This will be the first completely dry weekend since the weekend of November 17-18, over a month! Looking ahead, A White Christmas does not appear to be in the cards this year (sorry).

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