Back To The Dry Today; Watching Ike. . .A few showers moved across Johnson County Saturday afternoon. Here at the MCWC headquarters we received an impressive four one hundreths of an inch of rain (I say that jokingly, of course), but I guess we'll take whatever we can get.

After a round of dense morning fog burns off, look for full sunshine today, along with warm temperatures. Dry skies will remain tonight, though patchy dense fog will develop once again for the valleys.

Moisture will slowly increase on Monday and this could lead to a few scattered afternoon showers and thunderstorms developing during the "prime" daytime heating hours (most likely between 2PM and 6PM). Otherwise, look for partly cloudy skies and continued warmer than average conditions.

The tropics remain a huge interest to most folks. Category four Ike is the real deal. Ike has still been able to maintain a powerful category three status even moving through less than ideal upper level conditions. Modeling continues to follow the left path (south) with Ike, putting Cuba and eventually the Gulf of Mexico in Ike's path. You can actually blame this on the circulation around a big area of high pressure off the eastern seaboard (the same high that's helping steer Hanna). Of course Ike's interaction with Cuba will have a lot to say about his strength upon entering the Gulf early in the week. One way or another, however, Ike should regain major hurricane status (category three or greater) once in the Gulf of Mexico, and everyone from TX over to the FL peninsula should CLOSELY monitor Ike.

Here's Your Local MCWC Forecast For Johnson County, Including Mountain City, Doe Valley, Trade, Forge Creek, Pleasant Valley, Shady Valley, and Laurel Bloomery.

Here's Your Local MCWC Forecast For The High Elevation Communities Of Stone Mountain, Iron Mountain, Callalantee, Pond Mountain, and Snake Mountain.

Here's Your Local MCWC EXTENDED OUTLOOK For Johnson County.

MCWC's Three To Seven Day Weather Discussion:

Series Of Cold Fronts; Watching Ike. . .A weak cold front will move into the region late Monday and Tuesday. Tuesday will offer a better chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms, as the cold front moves through the region. Temperatures will remain a few degrees above normal. The boundary will remain in rather close proximity to the region on Wednesday so we must maintain mention of an isolated storm Wednesday, though Tuesday appears to offer best rain chances at this point.

After a dry Thursday and Friday, another cold front has it's eye set on the region for Friday night and Saturday- offering up additional chances of much needed rainfall. Of course we'll continue to closely monitor Ike and the potential threats he could pose to the southern Appalachian region down the road. Stay tuned.

"This is a great site! Thank you for all of your help." - Mike

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MCWC's ShowCast

Heritage Hall Theatre Presents: Broken Wire Bluegrass Band- Sat. Sept. 6th @ 7:30

Look for partly cloudy conditions with only a chance of an isolated thunderstorm. It'll still be a bit breezy; otherwise look for pleasant temperatures Saturday evening.

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