ALL RIGHT. SEVERE WEATHER COULD BE PART OF OUR FORECAST TO MOVING FORWARD. CERTAINLY WASN’T THE CASE YESTERDAY. TEMPERATURE GOT TO 80 DEGREES FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS YEAR. AND THAT’S THE SEVENTH TIME WE’VE BEEN AT 70 DEGREES OR BETTER SINCE THE 1ST OF FEBRUARY. TEMPERATURES WERE RUNNING 20 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORM YESTERDAY, DESPITE THE FACT THAT WE STARTED OUT NORMAL AND OUR MORNING LOW 39 DEGREES, WE SAW 41 DEGREE TEMPERATURE JUMP IN THE AFTERNOON. BELIEVE IT OR NOT, THAT WAS NOT A RECORD HIGH. THAT WAS 86 DEGREES SET BACK 35 YEARS AGO IN 1990, BUT CERTAINLY A WARM DAY. THIS WARM WEATHER HAS HELPED THE TREES RELEASE THE POLLEN. 90% OF THE SAMPLE AT FORSYTH COUNTY ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS WAS CEDAR AND JUNIPER POLLEN. YESTERDAY. WE HAVEN’T EVEN HIT OAK POLLEN SEASON YET, SO IF YOU’RE FEELING A LITTLE SNEEZY, IT’S PROBABLY THE REASON WHY THERE’S ALSO SOME PROBLEMS WITH AIR QUALITY DUE TO THE HIGH FIRE DANGER, AND THIS COULD INCREASE TO. THERE IS A FIRE DOWN BURNING AND UWHARRI NATIONAL FOREST THAT CERTAINLY COULD THROW SOME SMOKE PARTICLES OUR WAY. IF YOU DETECT SMOKE THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS, THAT COULD BE THE REASON WHY. AND THESE FIRES COULD SPREAD QUICKLY. WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE FOLKS TO PLEASE CONTINUE POSTPONING ANY AND ALL OUTDOOR BURNING. HUMIDITY IS LOW. IT DOES GET BREEZY, IF NOT GUSTY AT TIMES, AND WITH THESE WARMER TEMPERATURES IT PROVIDES AN ENVIRONMENT THAT FIRES COULD SPREAD OUT OF CONTROL QUICKLY. AND THEY ARE HARD TO CONTAIN. EVEN IF YOU’RE READY THERE WITH A HOSE. SO AGAIN, PLEASE POSTPONE YOUR EFFORTS IF YOU CAN. TEMPERATURES OVER THE AREA ARE RUNNING MILD THIS MORNING. WE’VE GOT A LOT OF AREAS IN THE 50S. THIS MORNING, 51 IN GREENSBORO, 54 IN SPARTA, EVEN SOME OF THE TRIAD TEMPERATURES IN SOME OF THE RURAL COUNTIES. LEXINGTON AT 45 DEGREES, CURRENTLY MUCH WARMER THAN AVERAGE FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR. WE’VE GOT A LITTLE RAIN DEVELOPING IN THE MEMPHIS AREA, COULD SEE A FEW STRONG STORMS DEVELOPING OVER ALABAMA, EASING INTO WESTERN GEORGIA, BUT THAT THREAT WILL INCREASE BY TOMORROW. WE GET SOME UPPER LEVEL SUPPORT. WE HAVE ANOTHER SYSTEM THAT WILL START BEARING DOWN ON THE MIDWEST, AND A LEVEL FOUR OUT OF FIVE RISK HAS BEEN ISSUED A MODERATE RISK FOR THE SAINT LOUIS METRO AREA AND MUCH OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS. THAT DOES INCLUDE THE THREAT FOR SIGNIFICANT TORNADOES. ON FRIDAY. THE RISK WILL SHIFT ITS FOCUS DOWN ACROSS THE SOUTH. BUT NOTICE HOW WE DO HAVE INCREASED RISK, INCLUDING A LEVEL TWO RISK IN THE WESTERN PART OF THE STATE. NOW, THIS SAYS SATURDAY, BUT THESE ARE ISSUED FROM EARLY SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH EARLY SUNDAY MORNING. IT’S A 24 HOUR PERIOD, MAINLY CENTERED ON SATURDAY, BUT I THINK IT’S GOING TO BE LATER SATURDAY BEFORE WE SEE THIS. YOU CAN SEE THE RISK FOR DAMAGING WINDS DURING THE DAY. SATURDAY IS GOING TO BE PRETTY HIGH BEFORE WE START TO SHIFT THE FOCUS INTO OUR REGION. SO A FEW LEFTOVER STORMS COULD PRODUCE SOME STRONG WINDS. WHILE WE CAN’T RULE OUT TORNADOES, I THINK THIS IS EVOLVING MORE INTO A STRAIGHT LINE WIND THREAT THAT WILL LIKELY CARRY INTO SUNDAY AS WELL. ACROSS THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA, I THINK THE DAYTIME THREAT IS WHAT WE’RE LOOKING AT. TEMPERATURES TODAY, NOTHING STORMY, JUST EXTRA CLOUDS, HIGH OF 76 DEGREES THIS AFTERNOON. SOUTH SOUTHWEST WINDS AT ABOUT FIVE MILES PER HOUR FOR THE FOOTHILLS, A HIGH OF 74 DEGREES TODAY AND A LIGHT BREEZE ACROSS THE REGION. MOUNTAIN HIGHS EVEN HAVE A SHOT AT 70. A LITTLE BIT LATER ON IN THE AFTERNOON. TODAY. DON’T FORGET TONIGHT WE HAVE THE TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE. IT WILL START AROUND MIDNIGHT WITH A DIMMING MOON. YOU’LL START TO SEE THE MOON DISAPPEAR JUST AFTER 1:00 IN THE MORNING, AND IT WILL BE A TOTAL ECLIPSE FROM ABOUT 230 TO 330 IN THE MORNING. WE’RE EXPECTING TEMPERATURES TO BE IN THE 50S WHILE THIS IS GOING ON, AND WHAT CLOUDS WE HAVE TODAY SHOULD CLEAR FOR A PERIOD OF TIME, I THINK DURING OUR ECLIPSE WINDOW. SO WE’LL KEEP OUR FINGERS CROSSED THAT THAT CONTINUES. STILL, THOUGH, YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A MOON IN THE SKY IN BETWEEN THE CLOUDS. THAT’S A LOT EASIER TO SEE THAN IF YOU’