Drier Weather & Warmer Temperatures In the Forecast

Good afternoon! Showers have generally ended west of I-75, but with wrap around moisture and the proximity of the disturbance pop up isolated showers remain in the Foothills and Smokies. These will continue at times this evening/early tonight, before drier conditions find us Saturday for all. Temperatures will remain on the cooler side of average today, topping out in the low to mid 60s. We'll see a slight warm up tomorrow, in the upper 60s to around 70, before followed by a secondary blast of cooler air Sunday (highs this day in the mid 60s). Winds will also be a bit breezy at times today through Saturday, before slackening late weekend.

Turning our attention to something we have highlighted often the past couple of weeks and that's drought. As you can see below, severe drought continues to expand, now encompassing the entire southern third of the state. Meaningful rainfall has been hard to come by, and last night into today was no exception. Most picked up a tenth to a quarter of an inch, but that will do very little in lowering the drought we currently have. Rainfall does not look likely in the next 5 days either, so I expect even worse conditions this time next week.

Looking at the longer term outlooks, we appear to close out the month of October on a warmer note. After the active and cooler pattern we have had in the past 10 days, we veer warmer with time. This will be seen as early as next week, with highs trending above average in the low to mid 70s (Tuesday and Wednesday). Precipitation outlooks from the Climate Prediction Center suggest near to slightly above average, so we will keep our fingers crossed. Guidance has an active set up in the pattern around a week out, which could bring us a fair shot at much needed rainfall.

Aside from a few isolated showers today, mainly east, most will stay dry through tonight. Cloud cover will thin out with time, resulting in partly cloudy to mostly sunny skies Saturday through at least early next week. Temperatures will be mild tomorrow, take a little dip Sunday with the second dry front, then moderate through mid next week. Enjoy, have a great weekend, and don't forget to send us pictures if you are out and about this weekend- we love to see the Fall colors!