Improving This Afternoon, Storms by Evening?

The radar was full of life this morning, but only for a broken band of light rain showers moving through the Carolinas. There was some lightning near Charlotte shortly before 4am, but from the Triangle to the Sandhills not a crack of thunder was heard. All of this moisture will continue to move off shore through midday and we'll start to see more sunshine this afternoon.

With 19 days crossed off the May calendar, Raleigh has recorded highs at or above 80 on five days this month (May 4, 5, 6, 11, and 18). Once we get rid of the clouds from this morning we'll make it 6 out of 20. Not that this is unusual considering our average high should be 80 beginning today. Looking down the road we're going to miss the milder temperatures from earlier in the month as a warm up is not too far away. We could be recording highs in the middle to upper 80s late next week as the persistent East Coast trough looks to relax a bit allowing for a late spring warming trend.

Don't forget about the Animal Planet Expo today! I'll use this excerpt as found in my email inbox from earlier this week. I don't think TWC will mind the cut and paste.

Time Warner Cable and News 14 Carolina are proud sponsors of the Animal Planet Expo. You won't want to miss the fun when the folks at Animal Planet join forces with our very own News 14 Carolina talent on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Fred G. Bond Metro Park in Cary. Grab the entire family - yes, pets are more than welcome as long as they are on a leash - and head on down to meet News 14 Carolina's Lee Ringer, Vernon Fraley or Gary Stephenson. And that's just the beginning of all the fun you'll have at the Animal House, Bug House and Pet Den - plus much, much more.

LOCATION: The Fred G. Bond Metro Park, 801 High House Road, Cary, NC 27512
DATE: Saturday, May 20th
TIME: 10am – 5pm
ADMISSION: FREE for the entire family

End Excerpt...

I don't know about you, but the Bug House sounds like a good place to take the kids!

Now for the adult readers following the Preakness Stakes today in Baltimore, MD. The weather at Pimlico will be beautiful with highs in the middle to upper 70's by race time. The track should be fast, but winds a bit breezy out of the west from 12-20 mph. Barbaro looks strong, but my money would be sitting with an exacta of 6-5 boxed for the Preakness Stakes. The trifecta is up in the air, but I'll go with 6-5-8. Let's see if the racing forecast is just as good as the afternoon forecast.

Have a Great Weekend!
-Joshua McKinney