Charlotte’s weather took a drastic turn on Tuesday from the sweltering temperatures that forecasters had originally predicted, and unexpected morning thunderstorms hit the area.
Don’t make fun of the meteorologists yet.
Temperatures will get very hot again this week, according to the National Weather Service office in Greer, SC
NWS forecasters originally predicted a sweltering heat wave would blanket the region from Tuesday, with a forecast high of 100.
After 3 p.m. Forecast Charlottehowever, the maximum was only 85 degrees at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
Mother Nature had other plans, NWS meteorologist Harry Gerapetritis told the Charlotte Observer at 2 p.m. Tuesday.
Intense storms that formed Monday night in Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia are expected to die out as they usually do once they hit the mountains of North Carolina early Tuesday, he said. declared.
The storms instead continued along mountain ridges toward NC Piedmont and Charlotte, he said.
Additionally, storms decided to “reignite” between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. in parts of Virginia and North Carolina and rumbled into the Charlotte area around 8 a.m., Gerapetritis said.
In another unexpected twist, a “shield” of mid-to-upper level clouds remained as part of the same airmass, dropping from highs in the mid-upper 80s on Tuesday afternoon.
At noon Tuesday, the NWS changed its heat warning for the Charlotte area to a less intense warning heat advisory until 8 p.m. for Mecklenburg, Gaston, Cabarrus and Union counties and SC counties of York and Chester.
Still, the heat index could be as high as 107 in parts of the Charlotte area, according to the advisory.
“Temperatures are not expected to get as hot as expected due to morning cloud cover and rain chilled air,” NWS meteorologists said in the advisory. “However, three-digit heat index values are still expected in the late afternoon.”
According to the advisory: “Hot temperatures and high humidity can cause heat-related illnesses.
“The dew points are still high at 72-73, so it’s wet,” Gerapetritis said.
The same air mass is expected to persist for a few more days, he said.
Heat index values could reach 105 or more on Wednesday, 100 to 105 on Thursday and more than 100 on Friday before conditions warm up a bit on Saturday, he said.
This story was originally published June 14, 2022 4:15 p.m.
