Good evening, North Carolina. We’re wrapping up the day for you with the most important stories you need to know and your weather outlook. 

Your Weather Planner

Mountains and Piedmont

Saturday looks much the same as Friday. Temperatures may be a degree or two cooler for the day. Sunday and Monday will feature cooler afternoon highs and a continued dry forecast, outside of a few mountain showers and storms. We may see a change in our dry pattern as we push into the middle of the new workweek.

Central North Carolina

Patchy fog may redevelop overnight, but we’re looking at otherwise cooperative weather as we start the weekend. It will feel muggy tonight and remain warm with mostly clear skies. Temperatures will drop to just the lower and middle 60s by sunrise. Dry weather is forecast to continue through the weekend, but we’ll see more clouds Sunday. Saturday will be almost as warm as Friday with highs in the 80s to near 90 degrees. Sunday and early next week will be just slightly cooler.

Eastern North Carolina

Dense fog may return to some areas Saturday morning with mostly clear skies and light winds in the forecast. Expect temperatures to drop to the middle 60s by sunrise. Saturday will be warm with highs in the middle 80s for some areas. Winds will pick up toward the afternoon ahead of a cold front. Dry and warm weather is forecast to continue through Sunday, though, with slightly cooler weather for the first day of fall on Monday.

Get your full forecast: Charlotte | Triad | Triangle | Coastal | Mountains

Today’s Big Stories

1. ‘Jesus, Take the Wheel’ country music singer, songwriter dies in plane crash in N.C. mountains

Country singer and songwriter Brett James, known for the hit “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” died with two others in a small plane crash in North Carolina’s mountains Thursday afternoon, authorities said Friday. James was traveling in a single-engine Cirrus SR22T plane when it crashed near Lotla Valley Elementary School in Franklin, about an hour west of Asheville. He was 57.

2. ‘Continuing the legacy’: 13-year-old honors Hispanic heritage through family jewelry tradition

A family tradition in Charlotte is shining this Hispanic Heritage Month. Valentino Patria, a 13-year-old jewelry maker, is using tagua seeds from palm trees in South America to honor his Latin American roots while helping children thousands of miles away.

3. House passes bill to avoid partial government shutdown, but prospects in Senate look dim

The House on Friday passed a short-term spending bill to extend government funding for seven weeks and avoid a partial government shutdown on Oct. 1, but prospects looked dimmer in the Senate. The bill would generally continue funding levels through Nov. 21. Democratic leaders are opposed and threaten a government shutdown if Republicans don’t let them have a say on the measure, as some Democratic support will be needed to get a bill to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature. 

4. Uber Eats will soon launch U.S. drone delivery in partnership with Flytrex

Uber Eats will soon be making some meal deliveries with drones. Uber Technologies said Thursday that it’s partnering with drone company Flytrex Inc. The companies expect to begin deliveries in test markets by the end of this year. Uber didn’t say where those markets will be, but Flytrex is already operating in Texas and North Carolina.

5. ‘He just broke’: Sister of suspect in Charlotte light rail stabbing shares story

For the first time on camera, the sister of Decarlos Brown Jr., the man accused of stabbing and killing 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska on Charlotte’s light rail, is telling her story. Tracey Brown describes a childhood bond with her brother, one that makes the crime he’s accused of almost impossible for her to comprehend.

Your Notes for the Weekend

Saturday

The UNC football team travels to Central Florida for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff
Duke hosts N.C. State at 4 p.m.
DC Comics celebrates Batman Day
National Dance Day
NHL preseason begins
Farm Aid music and food festival
World Cleanup Day, which sees volunteers cleaning up parks, waterways and forests

Sunday

The Carolina Panthers host the Atlanta Falcons at 1 p.m.
President Donald Trump delivers remarks at memorial for Charlie Kirk in Arizona
World Alzheimer’s Day
Metropolitan Opera season opens
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch, carrying reconnaissance satellites

In Case You Missed It

It will be difficult not finding something to do in North Carolina this weekend. Take your pick between festivals, fall adventures, college and pro football and concerts. In Raleigh, you can celebrate the Latin American heritage of North Carolinians through live music and dance. Or cheer on swimmers in Wilmington who are set to compete Sunday in a 3.5-mile loop. The Panthers will also be facing their rivals, the Atlanta Falcons, as they return to Bank of America Stadium this weekend.