Tropical Storm Cindy Downgraded: Charlotte’s Weekend Outlook

CHARLOTTE, NC -- Tropical Storm Cindy made landfall along the Gulf Coast Thursday and has been downgraded to a tropical depression. The storm, however, is still expected to bring scattered rain to the Queen City as it skirts the Charlotte region and moves northeast this weekend.

The National Weather Service issued a hazardous weather outlook Thursday for the piedmont of North Carolina, northeast Georgia, and the upstate of South Carolina, and says thunderstorms are expected with cloud-to-ground lightning and brief periods of heavy rainfall.

Remnants of the storm to the west of the Charlotte region are expected to be felt going into the weekend, with wind gusts of up to 21 mph expected Friday and Saturday, according to NWS. (Sign up for our free daily newsletters and Breaking News Alerts for the Charlotte Patch. iPhone users can download the Patch app in the App Store. Plus, like Charlotte Patch on Facebook.

Here’s the latest weekend forecast from the National Weather Service:

Today: A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm between 1pm and 3pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 3pm. Cloudy, with a high near 81. West southwest wind 5 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Tonight: A 40 percent chance of showers, mainly before 2am. Cloudy, with a low around 71. South southwest wind 3 to 6 mph. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Friday: A slight chance of showers before 9am, then a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 88. Southwest wind 7 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Friday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74. South southwest wind 9 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Saturday: A chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 9am. Partly sunny, with a high near 89. West wind 8 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Saturday Night: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 69. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 85.

Images via NWS