05/18/2026
The North Carolina Weather Headlines ahead of the Memorial Day Holiday Weekend! The unofficial start of summer is this week, but the next few days will feel just like summer. Here are my thoughts on the weather headlines, and I'll take my first stab at the holiday weekend forecast, at least some thoughts. I've had many folks message me already about it!
Tuesday & Wednesday will be hot and sunny, with near-record highs in the 80s and 90s across most of the state.
Thursday, a cold front will approach the state we should still see 70s and 80s for most areas, with some areas near 90 east. Thursday afternoon and evening, a few scattered showers and thunderstorms can't be ruled out across the state, especially in the west.
Friday, the cold front stalls and washes out across the state! It'll be a cooler day, with 50s and 60s in the west and 70s and 80s in the east. A wedge setup looks possible across the foothills and mountains, so y'all could end up pretty cooler. Clouds will increase, with scattered showers and some thunderstorms possible on Friday across the state.
The North Carolina Weekend! The first thing I want to say right now, despite what your apps might show at this point, is that I don't see any reason for it to be a washout! It looks like a typical setup for high humidity and scattered showers, and thunderstorms. The showers and thunderstorms will generally be driven by daytime heating and boundaries from the front. So at this point, we're looking at highs in the 70s and 80s on Saturday, with some hit-or-miss scattered showers and thunderstorms around, mainly in the afternoon and evening across the state. This type of setup is where one street could pick up a quick inch where the street over sees nothing. So we can't really pinpoint it down, but if you've been around long enough in North Carolina in the early summer, you know.
Sunday looks a little warmer, with a little less showers-and-thunderstorm coverage in the afternoon and evening.
So at this point, I would not cancel weekend plans, but I would have a plan B in case storms pass by. I'll have more thoughts over the next few days, so stay tuned!
