Cool Charlotte temps will finally shove miserable heat away, NWS says. Here’s when
After a couple more days of miserable heat, cooler, fall-like temperatures are finally on the Charlotte area’s horizon, according to the latest National Weather Service forecast.
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Temperatures should fall from an expected high of 96 on Friday to a low of 63 by mid-week, with highs in the mid- to high 70s, the forecast showed.
Will that end our seemingly forever streak of highs in the 90s and heat index values in the 100s?
“Climatologically speaking, we should be on the downturn,” meteorologist Ashley Rehnberg of the NWS office in Greer, S.C., told The Charlotte Observer.
Still, she said, she can’t guarantee next week’s cooler forecast will end the region’s persistent hot weather.
“We could still see an upper ridge of higher pressure” in the atmosphere in October and as late as November, although it’s impossible to predict, she said. That type of upper ridge caused this summer’s hot weather, she said.
Charlotte was “sunny and hot” on Friday, with heat index values up to 107 expected, the Friday afternoon forecast showed.
The NWS predicted a 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms Friday night. Thunder rumbled at Lake Norman Friday afternoon.
Rock Hill could reach 92 degrees and a heat index of 102, according to the forecast.
The heat index is what the outdoors feel like combining temperature and humidity.
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Values between 103 and 124 mean heat cramps and heat exhaustion are likely, with “heat stroke possible with prolonged exposure and/or physical activity,” according to the index.
Saturday in Charlotte should be mostly sunny and Sunday partly sunny, with an expected high of 88 both days.
Monday should sizzle back up to 90 under mostly sunny skies, with a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 p.m., according to the NWS.
Tuesday should fall to a high of 82, with showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 2 p.m., the forecast showed. Fall officially begins that day.
Highs should drop to 74 on Wednesday and 75 on Thursday under partial sunshine, according to the NWS.
Rock Hill should see highs of 89 on Saturday and Sunday, 91 on Monday, 83 on Tuesday, 77 on Wednesday and 78 on Thursday, NWS forecasters said.
Lows of 72 are forecast in Charlotte late Friday and early Saturday, 70 late Saturday and early Sunday, 70 again late Sunday and early Monday, 69 late Monday and early Tuesday, 66 late Tuesday and early Wednesday, and 62 late Wednesday and early Thursday.
Heat and humidity peak today before slightly cooler conditions return for the weekend. #ncwx #scwx #gawx pic.twitter.com/ooLgCuxAUF
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This story was originally published September 18, 2026 at 11:21 AM.
