Spring has arrived. So it’s hard to predict what the weather will be.
.JPG "Branches of a tree in full blossom hover over Lake Wylie from the banks of Sout Pointe Park at River Hills in Lake Wylie on the first day of Spring.")
Welcome to one of our most unpredictable seasons.
Spring arrived late Wednesday afternoon, and while springtime in the Carolinas usually represents a break between winter chill and summer heat, it often comes with some wild changes.
None of that is expected over the next week. National Weather Service meteorologists are predicting a rather stable weather pattern for the Rock Hill area.
The average high and low temperatures in the Rock Hill area for the first day of spring are 64 and 40.
And the nation’s scientists, in their official spring forecast, are calling for a solid chance of warmer-than-average temperatures and a slight chance of above-average precipitation. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be a few wrinkles, especially from now into the first week or two of May.
After all, snow has been reported in the Charlotte-Rock Hill area as late as April 28 (in 1928). And while the average date for the last freezing temperature in the area is around April 7, we had a freeze on April 17 last year – and April 25 in 2005.
For the next week, however, we’re looking at generally mild weather. At least partial sunshine is expected through Monday, with the exception of Thursday, when a low pressure system develops along the Carolinas coast and gradually moves northward. That storm system is predicted to bring driving rain to the East Coast, but the Rock Hill area will be on the western fringe.
That means a 40 percent chance of showers Thursday afternoon.
Sunshine is forecast to return Friday, although circulation around the coastal storm could produce breezy conditions. Then sunny and calmer weather is expected Saturday through Monday. Daily highs are expected to be around 60 degrees Thursday through Saturday, then climbing to the low 70s Sunday and Monday.
Another storm system is expected to affect the Southeast next Tuesday and Wednesday, and that low pressure system could produce another signature of springtime in the Carolinas – severe weather. But Harry Gerapetritis, of the Weather Service’s office in Greer, said it is too early to determine whether severe weather could impact the Rock Hill area.
Spring in Rock Hill
- Average high and low on March 20: 64-40
- Average high/low for April 15: 72-47
- Average high/low for May 15: 79-56
- Average high/low for June 20: 87-66
- Latest snow: April 28, 1928 (trace)
- Recent last freezes: 2018, April 17; 2017, March 17; 2016, March 3