Heat moves back in Wednesday, as air quality moves to moderate due to wildfires out west

By WRAL Weather Team

Expect to wake up to some lingering rain on Wednesday — but don’t worry — we will progressively dry out during the morning commute.

“Areas that wake up with clouds will see them clear throughout the day,” said WRAL meteorologist Kat Campbell.

Wednesday afternoon will be mostly sunny with highs in the upper 80s.

By Thursday, each day will feature more sun, hot temperatures and tiny rain chances, according to Campbell.

Highs will be in the low 90s for Thursday and Friday.

Campbell said that haze from wildfires in the western United States is likely to continue on Wednesday, especially from the Triangle northward.

“Air quality is forecast to be moderate across North Carolina,” said Campbell.

Campbell said meteorologists are also tracking Saharan dust moving out of Africa and over the Atlantic Ocean.

“This is actually great news and pretty common for this time of year,” said Campbell, adding that the dusty and dry desert air will suppress tropical development through the end of July.

“While some plumes of dust are forecast to arrive in the Gulf, air quality is unlikely to be an issues because the particles are so high in the atmosphere,” said Campbell.