Heat indices near 105, scattered storms across the Charlotte area Friday

CHARLOTTE, N.C. —

Tonight

It’ll be a very warm and humid evening across the Charlotte area with a few spotty showers and thunderstorms. Areas north of us, near the Triad of North Carolina, have already seen isolated severe storms. If any storms develop, they’ll have gusty winds and heavy rain.

Otherwise, expect heat indices to remain in the mid 90s through 8 p.m. It’ll be very muggy overnight with lows only dropping to the mid 70s.

RELATED: Weather IQ: Heat Index explained

A Heat Advisory goes into effect Friday for Iredell, Catawba, Lincoln, Gaston, Mecklenburg, York, Chester, Lancaster, Cabarrus, Rowan, Stanly, Union, Anson, Chesterfield, and Richmond counties. This is between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. for heat indices at or above 105 degrees possible.

Besides the heat and humidity, there will be scattered showers and storms across the Charlotte area Friday afternoon and evening. It looks like the heaviest rain will be along and west of I-77 and mainly after 6 p.m.

Here are some heat safety reminders to help reduce any heat-related illnesses.

• Limit time outside
• Stay hydrated
• Seek shade
• Check on the elderly and pets

RELATED: The risk of lightning ahead of a storm

Here are some lightning safety tips for any thunderstorm

• No place outside is safe when thunderstorms are in the area!
• If you hear thunder, lightning is close enough to strike you
• When you hear thunder, immediately move to a safe shelter, preferably inside.
• Do not go inside until 30 minutes have passed since the last clap of thunder.

Highs Saturday will once again reach the mid 90s with heat indices near 105 degrees. We’ll likely see heat advisories issued again across the Carolinas. Scattered showers and storms will become more widespread compared to Friday.

There’s finally a break in the heat on Sunday with highs only in the upper 80s to near 90 degrees. Although it’ll be plenty muggy, these conditions are more typical for early-mid July standards. Expect a few showers and storms across the area, too, but we need rain desperately.

Hurricane Beryl remains a strong Category 2 hurricane with sustained winds of 110 mph. Forecast models are in agreement that the storm will move across the Yucatan Peninsula by Friday, which will likely weaken the storm more.

People who live along the eastern coast of Mexico, as well as the southern coast of Texas, should continue to monitor Beryl over the coming days.

WCNC Charlotte’s Weather IQ YouTube channel gives detailed explainers from the WCNC Charlotte meteorologists to help you learn and understand weather, climate and science. Watch previous stories where you can raise your Weather IQ in the YouTube playlist below and subscribe to get updated when new videos are uploaded.

Stay connected to the WCNC Charlotte Weather Team:

Contact Brad Panovich at bpanovich@wcnc.com or follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram. 

Contact Larry Sprinkle at lsprinkle@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram. 

Contact Chris Mulcahy at cmulcahy@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok.

Contact Brittany Van Voorhees at bvanvoorhe@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.

Contact KJ Jacobs at kjacobs3@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.