Cooler air crossing NC will likely bring evening showers, maybe thunderstorms | News & Observer

The Triangle will likely see rain for a few hours this afternoon and tonight, and there could be thunderstorms with strong wind and hail as the storm system that struck Texas over the weekend pushes through the state.

The National Weather Service put the chance of rain from late afternoon through midnight at about 60 percent for most of the area.

The storm system, which is being carried along a cold front that will deliver cooler, drier air after it passes, does not have the potential for the kind of dangerous storms that caused several deaths to the southwest, the weather service said.

“This line of showers and thunderstorms will roll through tonight between 6 and 9, maybe even between 5 and 8, and the possibility does exist for some severe weather,” ABC11 meteorologist Don Schwenneker said.

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The weather service said that showers could bring a tenth to a quarter of an inch, but rain will be heavier in areas where thunderstorms pop up.

Forecasters at the service’s Raleigh office said the rain or storms could start as early at 3 p.m. in western counties and not until 6 p.m. east of the Triangle.

Today’s high is expected to be in the mid-80s. The next several days likely will be 5 to 10 degrees cooler.

The next chance for storms comes up on Thursday, according to the current forecast.