After one last warm day, Eastern North Carolina is gearing up for a major pattern flip just in time for Thanksgiving. A strong cold front sweeps through late tonight, dropping temperatures quickly and bringing an end to today’s mild 70s. A reinforcing front arrives Thursday night, locking in a much colder, much drier airmass.

Thanksgiving Day will feel more like mid-December, with highs only in the 40s and 50s under bright sunshine. Overnight lows dip into the 20s and 30s, and many inland communities could see upper-teen and 20-degree lows Friday night with excellent radiational cooling.

With ongoing drought conditions and very dry air moving in behind the cold front, fire danger increases Thursday.

Into the weekend, temperatures moderate gradually before our attention turns to early ne

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