Weather Permitting: Has the Fayetteville area seen the peak of summer?
All together now: Ahhhhhh!
That sigh of relief comes courtesy of a pair of cold fronts working their way toward the Fayetteville area. By the weekend, high temperatures should be knocked down to the mid-80s and — more notably — the dew point will retreat from "air you can chew" to about 52 degrees.
Everyone can relish the temperatures and the sudden silence from air conditioners that have been working overtime all summer. The last time Fayetteville didn't top 85 as a high was a month ago. That was also the last time a decent cold front managed to push this far south. Before then — May 14.
More good news: the tropics should remain quiet for at least a bit longer.
Here's the setup: The Bermuda High that has dominated Carolina weather for weeks is slowly giving ground to a pair of potent troughs. The first should bring widespread showers to the region this evening into early Friday. Look for clouds to linger in Fayetteville through mid-day Friday.
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As the clouds clear and a much drier flow moves in, the first relief from our summer stretch will begin. A northerly breeze will help hold highs in the mid-80s on Friday, and dew points should continue to drop in the afternoon and evening. By Saturday morning, the region should see lows of about 64, with dew points in the low to mid-50s.
The weekend: Saturday looks about as nice as mid-August can get. It looks sunny and cooler than usual as a pleasantly dry air mass builds over the Cape Fear region. Fayetteville should see a high of about 88, perhaps sneaking back to 90 on Sunday. lows overnight in the mid-60s.
Down the road: It looks like another cold front will try to push through early next week. We'll hit the low 90s on Monday, then another streak of upper 80s with another refreshing shot of cooler air. If this front breaks through, then the next one a few days behind, we may begin to believe that the summer ridge has seen its heyday.
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In the tropics: Dry, dusty air has choked the most recent wave sliding off Africa. It remains a weak wad of showers with no real center. The next wave looks likely to meet the same fate, so things look clear into late August. Of course, with ocean temperatures at bathwater levels, something could spin up quickly. We'll keep an eye open.
In the meantime, enjoy what should be a gorgeous weekend!
Got a weather question? Chick Jacobs can be reached at NCWeatherhound@gmail.com or NCWeatherhound on Twitter.
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This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Has the Fayetteville area seen the peak of summer weather?
