Cool weather? We knew it was coming

Everyone has been saying it for the last few weeks, as we experienced day after day after day of temperatures far above seasonal averages.

"It'll cool down eventually. We'll get a cold snap in April."

And here it comes, although it's not clear exactly how cold it will get.

Canadian high pressure will take control of Charlotte-area weather Friday, and we'll notice the difference. Temperatures will struggle to get out of the 50s, unless enough sunshine breaks through the overcast Friday afternoon to allow a recovery into the low 60s.

Then we'll have morning lows in the upper 30s to near 40 degrees Saturday, and the low to mid 40s Easter Sunday. Afternoon temperatures won't be bad, with highs around 70 Saturday and in the mid 70s Sunday.

But there won't be a return to 80 degrees next week. Instead, another cold front is forecast to push across the area late Monday or Tuesday, holding afternoon highs to the 60s again for Tuesday and Wednesday.

National Weather Service meteorologists are closely watching for the possibility of frost on those chilly mornings. The unseasonably warm weather in March and early April caused strawberries to ripen early and fruit trees to blossom several weeks before they normally do. A freeze could be devastating to farmers.

The good news? At this point, it appears as if morning temperatures won't quite dip to freezing levels in areas where trees have blossomed.

Forecasters have predicted April will be warmer than average, overall, and that could happen, despite next week's cool down. Accu-Weather forecasts call for a return to the low 80s by late next weekend or early in the week of April 16.