Forecast Details for Banner Elk, NC

Recent Locations: Banner Elk, NC

Today: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 3pm. Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 71. West wind 7 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Tonight: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 8pm. Patchy fog after 3am. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with a low around 59. Light west southwest wind becoming west 5 to 9 mph after midnight. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Wednesday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly between 11am and 1pm. Patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 74. West wind 10 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Wednesday Night: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly between 4am and 5am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 57. Light and variable wind becoming west southwest 5 to 7 mph after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Thursday: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm before 4pm, then showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 4pm. High near 68. West wind 11 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

Thursday Night: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 7pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 51. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Friday: A chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 2pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 58. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Friday Night: A chance of thunderstorms before 7pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 40. Breezy. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Saturday: A 30 percent chance of showers after 2pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 58.

Saturday Night: A chance of showers before 8pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 8pm and 9pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 41. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Sunday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 58.

Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 42.

Monday: Sunny, with a high near 63.

Want more detail? Get the Complete 7 Day and Night Detailed Forecast!

Current U.S. National Radar--Current

The Current National Weather Radar is shown below with a UTC Time (subtract 5 hours from UTC to get Eastern Time).

National Weather Forecast--Current

The Current National Weather Forecast and National Weather Map are shown below.

National Weather Forecast for Tomorrow

Tomorrow National Weather Forecast and Tomorrow National Weather Map are show below.

North America Water Vapor (Moisture)

This map shows recent moisture content over North America. Bright and colored areas show high moisture (ie, clouds); brown indicates very little moisture present; black indicates no moisture.

Weather Topic: What is Condensation?

Home - Education - Precipitation - Condensation

Next Topic: Contrails

Condensation is the process which creates clouds, and therefore it is a crucial process in the water cycle. Condensation is the change of matter from a state of gas into a state of liquid, and it happens because water molecules release heat into the atmosphere and become organized into a more closely packed structure, what we might see as water droplets.

Water is always present in the air around us as a vapor, but it's too small for us to see. When water undergoes the process of condensation it becomes organized into visible water droplets. You've probably seen condensation happen before on the surface of a cold drink!

Next Topic: Contrails

Weather Topic: What are Cumulonimbus Clouds?

Home - Education - Cloud Types - Cumulonimbus Clouds

Cumulonimbus Clouds Next Topic: Cumulus Clouds

The final form taken by a growing cumulus cloud is the cumulonimbus cloud, which is very tall and dense. The tower of a cumulonimbus cloud can soar 23 km into the atmosphere, although most commonly they stop growing at an altitude of 6 km.

Even small cumulonimbus clouds appear very large in comparison to other cloud types. They can signal the approach of stormy weather, such as thunderstorms or blizzards.

Next Topic: Cumulus Clouds