Raleigh residents may want to keep an umbrella close at hand with a forecast that combines mostly sunny skies and intermittent chances of showers and thunderstorms starting this afternoon, according to the National Weather Service in Raleigh.
The NWS Raleigh has released detailed forecasts indicating that today's temperatures can soar up high with the mercury hovering near 93°F, while heat index values could feel like a sizzling 101°F — a calm wind is expected to gain some energy turning south at 5 to 8 mph in the morning and the chance of precipitation sits subtly at 20%, tonight's outlook doesn't bring much relief with partly cloudy skies and lows around 75°F complemented by a gentle southern wind.
Looking ahead to Tuesday, the forecast does little to alleviate the heat with a continuation of high temperatures near 92°F and heat index values peaking again at around 101°F, which combines the slight chance of showers with a stronger possibility of thunderstorms post-2pm, while the accompanying southwest wind is projected at a more noticeable 7 to 10 mph and the chance of precipitation jumps to a moderate 40%, those rain chances ramp up Tuesday night with likely showers and a potential thunderstorm before the early hours of Wednesday, then again a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 am.
Stepping into midweek, Wednesday offers a 50% chance of both showers and thunderstorms, mostly cloudy skies are expected with the high taking a slight dip to near 87°F and a southwest wind staying between 3 to 5 mph, subsequent rainfall amounts could range between a quarter and half an inch, in contrast, the night's forecast suggests partly cloudy conditions with a low hovering around 71°F, and looking forward toward the end of the week, the climate favors outdoor Independence Day celebrations with sunny skies and highs around 93°F.
On the weather warning front, the NWS has issued a Hazardous Weather Outlook for central North Carolina for the week, there is a marginal risk (level 1 of 5) of severe weather on Tuesday primarily presenting the risk of damaging wind gusts and there's a similar marginal risk (level 1 of 4) for excessive rainfall, this risk may persist into Wednesday for areas southeast of US-1, residents in the mentioned regions could need to stay tuned and be prepared to react as spotter activation may be needed.
For more information and updates on the weather forecast, visit the National Weather Service website.
