Calm stretch of weather Wednesday through Saturday, storms return after

Wednesday is a much calmer day after Tuesday night's storms.

The storms were intense at times, knocking out power for thousands and taking down trees late into Tuesday.

Lows should be in the low 70s once storms move out.

• Wednesday: Mostly sunny and breezy with highs in the upper 80s-90.

• Thursday: Slightly less humid. Sunny with highs in the upper 80s.
• Friday: Partly cloudy and pleasant with a 20% chance for rain. Highs near 90.

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Raleigh's rain nears records

The calendar flipped to July, and the weather flipped on us too. So far, Raleigh has seen over a foot of rain in the month. 

That's the second-wettest July on record. 

Not only that, but we've surpassed all the rain we saw in the first six months of the year. Wild!

Calmer stretch of weather the rest of the week

We’ll be drier for much of Wednesday, with temperatures seasonable at around 90 degrees.

We'll see a bit of a dip in humidity levels, especially Thursday. This will lead to more comfortable mornings Thursday through Saturday.

We’ll keep similar temperatures to Wednesday through the weekend, and rain chances stay slim until the end of next weekend. 

By Sunday, another frontal system will tap into more humidity. This will bring us a rise in storm chances Sunday, Monday and perhaps Tuesday of next week too.

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

Recent rain provides decent drought relief in eastern half of NC

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.

We've gotten just over twelve inches of rain this month. According to meteorologists, we need at least six more inches by the end of the month to end the drought.

>> Drought Q&A, town-by-town water use restrictions

7-day forecast for central North Carolina.

• Wednesday: It's a seasonable summer day with the hot and humid weather sticking around. Highs in the upper 80s.
• 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 at around 90°
• Sunday: Scattered showers and some storms. Highs in the middle 80s.
• Monday: Scattered showers and storms. Highs in the mid-to-upper 80s.
• Tuesday: Mostly cloudy sies with a few showers and storms still possible. Highs in the upper 80s-90.