8 Days Out: What’s Trending in the Forecast for May 17

We’re just 8 days away from the 2025 Cheerwine Festival, and the latest forecast trends continue to support a warm, seasonally typical day for downtown Salisbury on Saturday, May 17.

While it’s still too early for exact rain timing or hour-by-hour specifics, the larger pattern is becoming more consistent — and overall, it’s encouraging.

Still on Track for Warm and Humid
Highs in the low to mid 80s remain the most likely outcome for festival Saturday, along with increasing humidity. This combination will make it feel a bit warmer than the thermometer reads, especially from midday into the afternoon.

Cloud cover may build during the day, but sunshine is still expected for the morning and early afternoon hours.

Watching for Pop-Up Afternoon Showers or Storms
As with most mid-May days in North Carolina, there is still a chance for isolated, heat-driven showers or storms to form during the mid-to-late afternoon.

Nothing widespread is expected at this time, and no severe weather is showing up in the long-range data. Still, we’ll be watching the Gulf moisture connection and upper-level support that could influence localized activity.

Model Agreement Building
Forecast confidence is gradually increasing as global and regional models are showing more consistency in:

• Ridge placement over the Southeast

• Dry morning setup

• Spotty instability in the afternoon

This points to a typical warm, partly sunny day with a low-end pop-up shower risk after 3 PM.

What Comes Next
Rowan County Weather will begin daily Cheerwine Festival forecast updates on Monday, May 12, including:

• Hourly breakdowns

• Radar snapshots

• Heat safety reminders

• Air quality and wind info

We’ll also be working with the City of Salisbury, Downtown Salisbury Inc., Cheerwine, and Rowan County Emergency Management to ensure everyone stays informed with real-time alerts if needed.

Bottom Line for Today
The forecast remains on track for a warm, mostly dry day with typical afternoon humidity and the chance for a brief, isolated shower or storm late in the day.

No red flags at this point — and confidence continues to grow as the models settle into a consistent trend.

Stay tuned to Rowan County Weather for the most reliable updates as we count down to May 17!