Warmer Sunday ahead of scattered nighttime storms; WRAL Weather Alert Day for Tuesday

Sunday is a warmer day compared to the last three, which have been our coolest since May 7-9.

There may be a few pop-up storms during the afternoon, but a better chance arrives overnight.

"We'll see a mix of clouds and sun," WRAL meteorologist Chris Michaels said. "Highs reach the 80s. There may be an isolated downpour after 2 p.m."

The downpours and steady rain over the last two days have put a dent in the drought, but have not been enough to ease our long-term dry conditions. 

• Sunday: Gradually warming into the mid 80s. Isolated PM storms with a slightly better chance after 11 p.m.  

• Monday: Hot with a stray storm in the Sandhills. Highs near 90 degrees. 

• Tuesday: Hot with highs in the lower 90s. Chance of strong thunderstorms later in the day. 

Download the WRAL Weather App | Track rain with the DualDoppler5000

A piece of energy in the upper levels of the atmosphere is enough to kick up a cluster of storms to our north. This will dive north to south into parts of the area after 10 or 11 p.m. Sunday.

A few storms could become strong-to-severe with localized wind damage being a possibility. 

Beyond the weekend, we'll see a stretch of typical summer heat. A storm system diving down from the Great Lakes moves in Tuesday and taps into some of that heat. 

"Some may be severe, with the main threat being damaging wind gusts," said WRAL meteorologist Grant Skinner.

The Level 2 risk out of 5 for severe storms has prompted a WRAL Weather Alert Day for Tuesday evening. The only caveat is that earlier clouds could limit the chance for severe storms, so we'll watch for trends.

Besides some brief shower chances, we’ll stay mostly dry for the rest of the week, and highs will sit at around 90°.

Get the latest forecast on WRAL News+ and download the WRAL Weather app to get notifications when conditions change.

Another week of decent precipitation has helped further ease the drought across North Carolina, eliminating the exceptional drought conditions in our part of the state.

New drought data released on Thursday, July 23, shows the state's exceptional drought is down from 5% to 2%, and the extreme drought is down from 39% to 28%.

Wake County also improved from being in extreme drought to down to severe drought, minus a tiny portion in the north. 

Another positive development is that this most recent map does not include the heavy precipitation that began Wednesday and will continue through Friday, meaning next week's report should show additional progress.

Still, moderate to severe drought conditions remain in the state, and WRAL meteorologists have said it could take a tropical system to get rid of our drought status. Most municipalities are still asking residents to limit water consumption.

• Sunday: Partly cloudy. Highs in the mid 80s. Storms at night.
• Monday: Partly cloudy with highs in the lower 90s.
• Tuesday: Building clouds with late-day storms. Some may be severe. Highs in the low-to-mid 90s.
• Wednesday: It's a seasonable summer day with the hot and humid weather sticking around. Highs reach around 90°.
• Thursday: It's a seasonable day today with highs in the upper 80s. Skies will be mostly sunny to partly cloudy with minimal storm chances.
• Friday: It's a pleasant end to the week. Highs climb into the upper 80s to lower 90s under mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies.
• Saturday: A few showers are possible, but better chances arrive Sunday. Highs in the upper 80s.