Forecast Last Updated at Monday, October 26, 2020 at 12:57PM

Here Comes The Sun- Slowly

The wedge of high pressure that settled over the region Sunday slowly erodes today. Fog goes away this morning, but clouds hang tough. Temperatures get a little boost this afternoon and signal a warming trend that persists through the middle of the week. After morning cloudiness sunshine follows Tuesday and holds for a day and a half. Yet again the remnants of another tropical system, Zeta, brings a healthy round of rain Wednesday night through Thursday. See details below.

Ray Russell's 2020-2021 Winter Fearless Forecast is now available. The bottom line for the forecast is: 1) less than average snow and 2) slightly warmer than average temperatures. We will have a few significant snow events but prolonged cold periods will be difficult to sustain. Get all the details here. The Fearless Forecast is sponsored by Peak Insurance Group.

The 2021 Blue Ridge Calendar is in stores now.  Visit RaysMarketPlace.com for a complete listing of retailers or purchase online.  A portion of the proceeds goes to support the important work of the Blue Ridge Conservancy.

Monday Hi: 69 Lo: 47 Mostly cloudy; Less cool; Light West wind

Tuesday Hi: 70 Lo: 49 Patchy fog early; Becoming mostly sunny; Warmer; Light West wind

Wednesday Hi: 71 Lo: 57 Some sun early then increasing clouds; Rain arrives Wed. evening; Mild; Light SW wind

Thursday Hi: 69 Lo: 45 Cloudy with periods of rain; Moderate to heavy at times

Friday Hi: 55 Lo: 32 Cloudy with a few showers early; Clearing in the PM and turning colder; Windy

Further Out

Saturday - Mostly sunny & cool; Nice, yet chilly for Trick-or-Treating Sat. night; High in the mid 50s; Low in the mid 30s
Sunday - Mostly cloudy; Light showers around, mainly PM; Remaining cool; High in the mid 50s; Low in the upper 30s

Forecast Discussion

The long stretch of quiet weather ended this weekend and we'll endure an active pattern to close out October. First up, the cool wedge of high pressure blanketing the area breaks down today. It's a slower process than we'd like so clouds remain abundant and any breaks will fill back-in tonight. Sunshine and milder temperatures return Tuesday and for the first half of Wednesday.... then enters Zeta.

Tropical Storm Zeta, soon to be a hurricane, traverses over the Yucatan Peninsula tonight on a journey into the open Gulf. Zeta makes landfall southeast of New Orleans Wednesday afternoon and gets catapulted northeast as it interacts with an approaching low pressure system. It will track through the heart of the Southeast and along the spine of the southern Appalachians Wednesday night and out through Virginia late Thursday. Rain overspreads the area Wednesday night and continues for most of Thursday. Rain could be heavy at times with 1"-3" of rain expected when it's said and done.

Friday, a cold front is on the heels of Zeta. Any lingering early morning showers yield to afternoon sunshine, falling temperatures, and a strong northwest wind. Chilly air hangs around for the weekend, but it will at least be dry for Trick-or-Treating Saturday night. Another front buzzes through Sunday producing a few daytime showers.

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 raysweather.com or call our offices at 828.264.2030.