Storm deflector's turned on

It's like someone sprayed a can of storm repellent on the United States mainland this weekend, and the result for those of us in the Carolinas will be the nicest Saturday-Sunday combination we've had in quite a while.

If you're headed for any of the festivals in the area (the Greek Festival and the Blues & BBQ event are Charlotte's highlights), you'll have great weather. The same is true for anyone headed to a football game this weekend.

There are three tropical weather systems in the Atlantic/Caribbean basin, but none of them figure to bring us much trouble either.

High pressure will dominate the Carolinas for several days, and the stubborn storm system -- the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee -- that caused serious flooding in parts of the East has moved away. That system spun clouds into the Charlotte region Wednesday and Thursday, but sunshine has taken control today. That will continue into next week.

With more sun, high temperatures will return to the low 80s today, then the mid 80s over the weekend. Morning lows will be near 60.

Folks, it doesn't get much better than that in September.

It looks as if the upper 80s will return by later next week. The computers continue to hint at a real cool down next weekend (think, highs in the mid 70s), followed by a return to 90-degree weather by Sept. 20 or so.

Here's a rundown of the tropical weather systems:

Katia -- This system is losing its tropical characteristics as it moves into cooler water in the North Atlantic. It looks like Katia will plow into Scotland early Sunday with sustained winds of 70 mph and stronger gusts. That'll be a very stormy day in the northern part of the British Isles.

Maria -- It was a weak tropical storm Friday morning, but the National Hurricane Center expects Maria to get stronger over the next two days, possibly reaching low-level hurricane status. Maria will bring strong winds and rain to the northern Antilles (Guadeloupe and St. Martin, for example) and then the Virgin Islands. After that, Maria will do what most other hurricanes have done this year in the Atlantic -- curve away from the U.S. coast.

A strong trough continues to dominate conditions along the East Coast, and it has provided the United States with hurricane insurance this year, with the notable exception of Irene.

High waves and rip currents will be a problem along the Outer Banks, however, due to Maria.

Nate -- This tropical storm is forecast to grow into a hurricane. It's in the Bay of Campeche, in the southern part of the Gulf of Mexico. Hurricane specialists expect it to make landfall in central Mexico later this weekend. It will have no impact on the United States.