Fay vs. drought, pt. 2: Drought still wins

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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The best local weather forecasters in Asheville — Ray’s Weather Center — note that the rainfall the past couple of days did put a dent in the drought.

But we’re still six inches off normal.

Here’s the first blurb:

Rainfall amounts across the mountains and foothills over the last few days averaged in the four to six inch range. While there was spotty flooding throughout the region during the height of the storm on Tuesday, Fay’s remnants proved to be mostly beneficial in putting a huge dent in the long-term drought. Year-to-date rainfall deficits were effectively halved. This afternoon and for the holiday weekend, we return to your regularly-scheduled late August/early September weather program: A good deal of sunshine each day, warm and humid, with a risk for a PM shower or thunderstorm.

Here’s your Labor Day outlook:

In the wake of Fay we are left with a warm and rather soupy tropical air mass. While we don’t have a mechanism to generate any widespread rainfall today, daytime heating will be enough to trigger scattered afternoon showers and thunderstorms around the region. We’ll start the day with cloudy skies and a few morning showers, before afternoon brightening occurs.

The next couple of days will be much the same. Don’t cancel any holiday weekend outdoor plans, but just be mindful of the threat for afternoon thundershowers. A cold front will push into the state on Sunday. At this time, we believe drier air will make a push into the state, reducing if not eliminating rain chances for Sunday and Labor Day. We’re not confident as to the final resting place of the front, so we’ll maintain a slight chance for afternoon thundershowers during this period.

Need to know the weather — the real weather — in the mountains? Go to Ray’s Weather Center.