Cloudy | North Carolina Weather 6 AM

Good morning! I'm Aaron Jolly. And welcome to the North Carolina Weather Podcast. It's Wednesday, February 25th. Folks, that southwest breeze you're feeling right now? It's doing double duty. Warming us up.. And setting the table for tonight's rain. Right now you're at 39 degrees under gray skies. Enjoy the dry hours while they last. Down in the Piedmont, you'll climb to 59 degrees this afternoon. Those southwest gusts hit 30 miles an hour, so hold onto your hat. Rain rolls in around 10 P.M. and keeps going until 5 A.M. The heaviest stuff peaks around 2 A.M. Lows settle near 40 degrees by 5 A.M., but wind chill makes it feel like 32. Over in the Triangle, you're a touch warmer. High near 61 degrees with gusts to 29 miles an hour. Same rain timeline.. Arriving around 10 P.M., peaking near 4 A.M. Your low drops to 39 degrees around 7 A.M., feeling like 32. Then temperatures bounce right back to 60 degrees by 5 P.M. Thursday. Now push west into the mountains. Partly sunny today, high near 56 degrees. Rain arrives earlier here, around 7 P.M. It gets serious overnight, peaking around 3 A.M. Lows fall to 34 degrees by 5 A.M., feeling like 29 by 7 A.M. Winds flip from northwest to southwest around 6 A.M. Thursday. Thursday is a soaker statewide. Mountains pick up a quarter to half an inch. The Triangle could see half to three quarters of an inch. The rain clears Friday as cooler air wedges in. Then the weekend.. Saturday brings sunshine and mid 60s. Sunday? Some spots flirt with 70 degrees. Spring equinox is three weeks out and we're already gaining two minutes of daylight every day. Charge your phone tonight. Set it on the nightstand. That rain drumming on the roof between 2 and 4 A.M. might just be the best sleep sound you've had all week. That's your forecast — we'll be back tomorrow. Take care!