Some seriously nice weather! - FOX Carolina 21

High pressure will build in from the northwest over the next few days, which will lead to some gorgeous weather across the western Carolina and northeast Georgia!  Highs tomorrow will reach the mid 50s for the mountains and low 60s in the Upstate under sunny skies! Temps will actually be at right about normal... By the weekend temps will creep above the seasonal norms, to around 60 in the mountains and mid 60s for the Upstate. 

Next week we'll get some rain from a cold front late Monday into Tuesday.  Looks like any severe weather will probably be confined to the Gulf Coast.  Severe weather is our focus this week as we all aim to become more aware of the dangers and what to do.  Here's the latest from National Weather Service today on Severe Weather Awareness Week:

THIS IS SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK IN THE CAROLINAS. FAMILIES AND

INDIVIDUALS...AS WELL AS EMPLOYERS AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS...ARE

URGED TO USE THE INFORMATION PROVIDED THIS WEEK TO DEVISE THEIR OWN

SEVERE WEATHER SAFETY PLANS. IF YOU ALREADY HAVE A PLAN IN PLACE...

YOU ARE ENCOURAGED TO USE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW YOUR PROCEDURES

AND PERFORM DRILLS AND EXERCISES.

ALTHOUGH PEAK SEVERE WEATHER SEASON IN THE REGION IS STILL A COUPLE

OF MONTHS AWAY...THE TIME TO PREPARE FOR VIOLENT WEATHER IS RIGHT

NOW. ON AVERAGE...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ISSUES SEVERE

THUNDERSTORM WARNINGS 15 TO 20 MINUTES PRIOR TO THE ARRIVAL OF LARGE

HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. FOR TORNADOES...THIS LEAD TIME IS EVEN

SHORTER...TYPICALLY 10 TO 15 MINUTES. THESE ARE THE LIMITS OF THE

CURRENT STATE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY. CLEARLY...THIS IS NOT

ENOUGH TIME TO DECIDE WHAT TO DO WHEN THREATENING WEATHER IS

APPROACHING. YOU SHOULD ALREADY HAVE A PLAN OF ACTION IN PLACE...AND

BE READY TO ACT ON IT IMMEDIATELY WHEN A WARNING IS ISSUED OR SEVERE

WEATHER IS OBSERVED.

THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF YOUR PLAN IS TO IDENTIFY A SAFE ROOM. THE

SAFEST LOCATION IS UNDERGROUND...SUCH AS A BASEMENT OR SPECIALLY

BUILT SHELTER. IF ONE IS NOT AVAILABLE...YOU SHOULD CHOOSE AN

INTERIOR...WINDOWLESS ROOM ON THE LOWEST LEVEL OF YOUR HOUSE OR

PLACE OF BUSINESS...SUCH AS A CLOSET OR BATHROOM. YOUR GOAL SHOULD

BE TO PLACE AS MANY WALLS AND FLOORS BETWEEN YOU AND THE OUTSIDE AS

POSSIBLE. MOBILE HOMES PROVIDE LITTLE PROTECTION FROM MOST

TORNADOES...AND FROM SOME DOWNBURSTS. IF YOU LIVE IN A MOBILE

HOME...YOU SHOULD MAKE ARRANGEMENTS TO STAY IN A HOUSE WITH A FRIEND

OR NEIGHBOR ON DAYS WHEN AN OUTBREAK OF SEVERE WEATHER IS FORECAST.

AGAIN...THE TIME TO TALK ABOUT THESE ARRANGEMENTS IS NOW...NOT

MINUTES OR EVEN HOURS BEFORE SEVERE WEATHER STRIKES.

ANOTHER IMPORTANT STEP IN COMPLETING A SEVERE WEATHER PLAN IS

ASSEMBLING AN EMERGENCY SUPPLIES KIT. THIS KIT SHOULD BE STORED IN

OR EASILY ACCESSIBLE FROM YOUR SAFE ROOM. IT SHOULD CONTAIN

ESSENTIAL ITEMS THAT YOU MAY NEED DURING EXTENDED PERIODS OF UTILITY

OUTAGES. A GOOD EMERGENCY KIT CONTAINS PLENTY OF WATER...NON

PERISHABLE FOOD ITEMS...FLASHLIGHTS...FIRST AID MATERIALS...

ESSENTIAL MEDICATIONS...IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS...EXTRA BATTERIES...AND

A BACKUP POWER SUPPLY IF YOU RELY ON ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT FOR HEALTH

PROBLEMS.

ANOTHER COMPONENT OF YOUR KIT SHOULD BE A DEVICE FOR RECEIVING

TIMELY WARNINGS AND WEATHER UPDATES FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER

SERVICE. MOST CITIZENS CONTINUE TO RECEIVE THEIR WARNING INFORMATION

FROM TRADITIONAL MEDIA SUCH AS TELEVISION AND RADIO. HOWEVER...THESE

RESOURCES WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE IF YOUR POWER GOES OUT...OR IF YOU

ARE AWAY FROM YOUR TELEVISION OR RADIO. NOAA ALL HAZARDS WEATHER

RADIO...WIRELESS EMERGENCY ALERT TEXT MESSAGES...SMART PHONE

APPLICATIONS...AND SOCIAL MEDIA CAN BE UTILIZED TO RECEIVE WARNINGS

FOR YOUR LOCATION ANYTIME OR ANYWHERE. WE WILL DISCUSS THESE MEANS

OF RECEIVING WARNINGS IN MORE DETAIL ON FRIDAY.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ASSEMBLING AN EMERGENCY SUPPLIES KIT...VISIT

NOAA.GOV/WRN.