Forecast Last Updated at Friday, June 18, 2021 at 6:55AM

Perfectly Warmer; Watching Gulf

I don't think I've experienced a more perfect weather day than Thursday was. Friday is similarly perfect but 8 degrees warmer in the afternoon. Nice, warm weather continues Saturday. But we are all watching the Gulf of Mexico. Tropical Storm Claudette will form today. Details of where its center consolidates holds the key for impacts on our weather Sunday afternoon through early Monday. Every inch north and west means more rain for us. A track through North Georgia with a glancing blow to NW NC is the most likely scenario.

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Friday Hi: 81 Lo: 59 Mostly clear; Quickly warmer; Wind becoming SW 5-15 mph, gusty at higher elev's tonight

Saturday Hi: 82 Lo: 62 Scattered PM clouds; Warm; West wind 5-15 mph, gusty at higher elev's Sat. night

Sunday Hi: 77 Lo: 62 Becoming cloudy; Showers and thunderstorms developing in the afternoon, continuing overnight; Isolated heavy rain possible; South wind 10-20 mph, gusty

Monday Hi: 80 Lo: 62 Cloudy start, but breaks in the PM hours; AM showers and thundershowers; Breezy

Tuesday Hi: 74 Lo: 54 Mostly cloudy; Scattered showers & t-storms

Further Out

Wednesday - Mostly clear; A bit cooler; Pleasant weather; High in the lower 70s; Low in the lower 50s
Thursday - Mostly clear; Continued pleasant weather; High in the mid 70s; Low in the mid 50s

Forecast Discussion

High pressure is headed into the Atlantic today but controls our weather through Saturday. We are now in the warmer southerly flow around this high and we'll know it by the warmer temperatures. Enjoy beautiful weather!

But eyes are on the Gulf of Mexico where Tropical Storm Claudette is forming. Exactly where the center forms today will have major implications for the path it will take through the Southeast early next week. A more northerly track means more rain and storminess for us. Claudette will come ashore in Louisiana tonight and be in Mississippi Saturday. Early hints today suggest that the center will form on the north/west side of the current broad circulation. That would suggest a wetter, stormier Sunday afternoon through early Monday as it passed through North Georgia. That's why we kept the more forecast we had going. Consolidation farther south/east would probably prevent major impacts in NW NC (only a few showers). We'll know more once the center of the storm forms today.

Claudette will exit to our east Monday giving us a brief break Monday afternoon and Monday night.

A front moves through from the west Tuesday. Expect another round of rain and storms Tuesday rivaling or greater than Claudette's impacts.

After Tuesday, pleasant weather returns for Wednesday and Thursday thanks to high pressure in the Ohio Valley moving toward the Mid-Atlantic.

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