Forecast Last Updated at Thursday, April 24, 2014 at 11:49AM

Warmer Today; Showers Friday

The weather trend is our friend this week, but Friday will be the exception. Today has lots of sun with some clouds arriving late and then increasing clouds tonight. A front moves through Friday with showers possible late tonight. Showers (with a thundershower possible) will be with us for a good part of Friday, tapering off after 3 PM. It will be quite breezy Friday and Friday night. The weekend will be terrific--warmer temperatures and lots of sun. Enjoy the weekend; next week, not so nice.

It's our favorite time of year again... MerleFest is today through Sunday with wall-to-wall music on 13 stages. The weather looks great (except for showers and thundershowers during the daytime Friday). See our Hour-by-Hour MerleFest Forecast for details.

Thursday Hi: 63 Lo: 48 More clouds late; Warmer; Showers possible late tonight; South wind 5-15 mph becoming gusty at higher elev's tonight

Friday Hi: 63 Lo: 42 Generally cloudy; Showers & t-showers, tapering off after 3 PM, ending late-day; SW wind 5-15 mph gusty at times especially up top, becoming NW 10-20 mph at night

Saturday Hi: 66 Lo: 45 Sunny skies; Beautiful Saturday; AM wind 5-15 mph (breezy early), becoming SW 5-10 mph

Sunday Hi: 70 Lo: 49 Warmer day with increasing clouds late

Monday Hi: 63 Lo: 49 Generally cloudy; Chance of showers especially in the afternoon; Increased shower coverage at night

Further Out

Tuesday - Cloudy; Showers; High in the mid 60s; Low in the mid 40s
Wednesday - Cloudy; Showers; High in the mid 50s; Low in the mid 40s

Forecast Discussion

After a chilly start in valleys, today is very nice (warmer) with lots of sun. Clouds increase late today and tonight in advance of a cold front that will move through Friday from the west.

Friday's front bring showers and a few thundershowers from late Thursday night through mid-afternoon Friday. Then showers taper off later Friday afternoon, ending by late afternoon. It will be breezy as well.

Then the weekend... Ah, the weekend looks terrific--warmer temperatures and lots of sun. Some cloudiness returns late Sunday increasing Sunday night. The only other caveat is breezy conditions early Saturday morning.

Enjoy the weekend because next week will not be so nice. Weather systems slow to a snail's pace across the country next week. An upper-level low will move out of the Rockies Sunday in the the center of the U. S. Monday. It then loiters through Missouri and the Ohio Valley Monday through Wednesday. Spokes of energy/moisture will rotate through our region Monday through Wednesday (and maybe beyond Wednesday). Details on timing are impossible to predict at this point. So for now, we just have a forecast for showers through this time-frame, especially Monday afternoon through Wednesday. Thunder will be possible as well. It will not be raining all that time, but wise folks will have an umbrella handy.

Sugar Mountain Resort Activities

The winter season at Sugar Mountain Resort has come to an end.

But we are already preparing for spring and summer fun. Be sure to visit.

Check out our panning, live streaming webcam from the top of Sugar Mountain. Or see what's going on at the 4,300 ft. base.

Watch as we transform the tubing and ice skating facility into a golf and tennis center.

Announcements

Using information from RaysWeather.Com

First, all data and forecasts on RaysWeather.Com are the intellectual property of RaysWeather.com, Inc. Here is our usage policy regarding rebroadcast or redistribution of any information from our site...

"The reader is not permitted to reproduce, retransmit, redistribute any weather data, forecasts, analysis, image, or any other product from this site to any other person or entity, in any format by any means. All information, data, and images contained on any page of this site are copyrighted by RaysWeather.Com, Inc. (unless otherwise noted) and is the property of RaysWeather.Com, Inc. Information, data, and images from this site may not be archived or stored for future use. Exceptions to this condition of use may only be made by express, written permission of RaysWeather.Com." See our Terms and Conditions page.

In short, if you do not have a written agreement with us to do so, you do not have permission to republish any information found on this site. If you work for a media entity (TV, radio, website, newspaper, etc.) and wish to republish information from this site, please contact us at ray@raysweather.com or call our offices at 828.264.2030.