Next 2 days: High humidity, high pollen

All the clouds in the Charlotte region for the past two days are an indication of the relatively high amount of moisture in the air this week.

You can expect three more days of this before a pretty potent cold front brings in some drier and considerably cooler weather for the weekend.

The higher humidity levels are accompanied by high pollen levels.

The rain, gusty winds and lower humidity that arrived last Friday provided the region with three days of relief from tree pollen -- especially oak, ash and birch. But the count was back up Monday and was in the "moderate" stage Tuesday.

The forecast is for very high pollen levels Wednesday and Thursday.

We'll be in humid air that would be downright oppressive if this were summer. In fact, there will be enough humidity in the atmosphere Wednesday for the development of afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms in the mountains. A few of those showers and storms will spread into the foothills and Piedmont both Wednesday and Thursday, although it will be partly sunny most of the time.

High temperatures likely will climb into the lower 80s both days.

The cold front is expected to arrive Friday, and the timing will make the difference between severe thunderstorms and regular, old garden-variety storms.  As we were reminded last Thursday night and Friday morning, a cold frontal passage during the middle of the night often mutes the strength of thunderstorms.

The latest computer models indicate Friday's front will arrive at night.

And the latest models continue to show a changeover to cooler-than-average temperatures for the weekend, although there's been a bit of improvement in the forecast. On Monday, the National Weather Service was looking at highs Saturday and Sunday for Charlotte in the range of 63 to 65 degrees. Now the forecast is about 3 to 4 degrees warmer.  That could make the difference between jackets and T-shirts for outdoor apparel in the afternoon

Update ... The latest computer models now suggest the cold front will cross the area during daylight hours Friday. But cape levels -- the measurement of buoyancy in the air (lift) -- are rather low. That could limit the development of any severe weather.

We'll watch this over the next few days.