ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Western North Carolina is getting a taste of fall, with cool mornings, plenty of sunshine and dry weather expected through the weekend and into next week.
Overnight lows across much of the region will run about 5 to 10 degrees below normal Friday and Saturday nights, according to the National Weather Service in Greenville-Spartanburg.
In Asheville, Friday will turn increasingly sunny with a high near 74 degrees. Temperatures are expected to fall to around 45 overnight under mostly clear skies.
Saturday will be sunny with a high near 75, followed by an even cooler night as the temperature drops to around 43 degrees.
The sunshine sticks around Sunday, when Asheville should reach about 76 degrees. Northwest winds could gust as high as 18 mph during the day before temperatures fall into the mid-40s Sunday night.
Friday’s daytime temperatures will be a few degrees below normal, but that won’t last long. Forecasters expect highs to climb above normal this weekend and remain there into next week.
The weather should stay dry, too. High pressure is expected to dominate much of the eastern United States, keeping rain out of the Western North Carolina forecast through at least the middle of next week and possibly through Thursday.
Morning fog and low clouds also will remain possible in mountain and river valleys over the next several days.
Otherwise, the forecast is shaping up to be a sunny and dry early-fall stretch across the mountains.