ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Summer isn’t quite ready to give up its grip on Asheville.
Mostly sunny skies and warm temperatures are expected across the region this week, with Asheville reaching the upper 80s Monday and again Wednesday through Friday, according to the National Weather Service in Greenville-Spartanburg.
The weather should stay fairly quiet, too, with a low risk of significant weather through much of the week.
Monday will be the hottest day of the week, with sunny skies after some patchy morning fog and a high near 88 degrees. A back-door cold front will move into the region later in the day, but the chance of rain is low. An isolated shower could develop, particularly near the Blue Ridge Escarpment, but most areas should stay dry.
The front will bring a slight change Tuesday, with some additional cloud cover and cooler temperatures. Asheville is forecast to reach about 84 degrees under mostly sunny skies, with a low around 60 Tuesday night.
By Wednesday, the warmth returns. Asheville is expected to see sunny skies and a high near 88 degrees.
Rain chances begin to creep up later in the week. The National Weather Service is calling for a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms Thursday afternoon and a 40 percent chance Friday afternoon. Even then, most of the region is expected to remain dry, with highs near 89 degrees.
Mountain valley fog and low clouds will remain possible during the morning hours throughout the week.
The National Weather Service said the overall pattern is typical of late-summer weather, with high pressure keeping temperatures warmer than normal across much of the region.
A taste of fall may be coming
While this week looks more like summer, a cooler pattern could develop next week.
Chris Justus, chief meteorologist for WYFF 4, said forecasters are watching what could be the region’s first real fall cold front.
The timing has slowed, with the front now looking more likely to arrive Monday or Tuesday rather than next weekend, Justus said.
But there is still some uncertainty about what happens when it gets here. The front could stall somewhere across the Southeast, potentially bringing a stretch of clouds and rain along with cooler temperatures.
Justus said that could knock highs from around 90 degrees this week to near 80 next week.
So for now, Asheville gets a few more days of late-summer warmth. If the front arrives as expected, the trade-off for cooler temperatures could be a wetter and cloudier stretch of weather.