The Upper Low Shifts East
Thursday, September 24, 2026 · 5:44 AM
Lyrics
Low chance for scattered showers across the Cumberland Plateau Thursday. No severe weather expected. Pleasant weather this weekend with seasonal temperatures and mostly clear skies. One hundred sixteen days of heat Broken today in dark defeat Highs only reaching the low seventies Shrouded in grey beneath chilling trees May twenty-ninth was the last time we knew A sunless sky of this frozen hue A steady north-northeast breeze takes the light And drags the late summer to early night The stratus deck hangs like a doom on the sky West of Interstate sixty-five the clouds will not die If the thick veil thins, the heat may return But under the cold air the dark altars burn Hear the atmospheric decree! The grey tide seals our destiny! As the sky turns to lead and the warm winds freeze! The upper low shifts east! The upper low shifts east! Scattered showers creep on the Plateau edge Dripping cold rain off the sandstone ledge Overnight lows into the forties fall Fifties elsewhere as night swallows all High pressure builds from the western lands To drag us back to the burning sands Ninety degrees looms next in line A heavy dark curse on the forecast line Hear the atmospheric decree! The grey tide seals our destiny! As the sky turns to lead and the warm winds freeze! The upper low shifts east! The upper low shifts east! It shifts! The upper low shifts east! Across the Cumberland Plateau it creeps! No severe weather, but the darkness remains! The upper low shifts east! The upper low shifts east!
The forecast discussion
KEY MESSAGES
Updated at 537 AM CDT Thu Sep 24 2026
- Low chance for scattered showers across the Cumberland Plateau Thursday.
No severe weather expected.
- Pleasant weather this weekend with seasonal temperatures and mostly clear skies.
SHORT TERM
(Tonight through Friday Night) Issued at 1043 PM CDT Wed Sep 23 2026
Today was substantially cooler than recent days with highs only making it into the low 70s.
We broke a 116 day streak of 80 degrees or warmer in Nashville with the last day we saw cooler than 80 being May 29th.
A thick low stratus deck is to thank for the cooler weather with a steady north-northeast breeze.
Clouds will stick around through much of the day Thursday, once again keeping temperatures on the cooler side.
Ridging will start to build in from the west and if this stratus deck starts to thin out, we could see a few spots make it to 80 degrees tomorrow, especially west of I-65. As the upper low shifts east, there will be another opportunity for scattered showers and maybe a storm or two to develop tomorrow afternoon.
No severe weather is expected.
Friday is looking fantastic with highs in the upper 70s to low 80s, low humidity, and mostly sunny skies.
Overnight lows will fall into the 40s on the Plateau and 50s elsewhere across the mid- state.
LONG TERM
(Saturday through next Thursday) Issued at 1043 PM CDT Wed Sep 23 2026
The fantastic weather will continue through the weekend with seasonal temperatures and low humidity.
Overnight lows will be cool enough to wear a light jacket!
Starting Monday, we will see a rise in temperatures as high pressure builds back over the southeast.
This will keep rain chances near 0% through Tuesday and warm us back up into the upper 80s to maybe even 90 in Nashville.
Fortunately the upper air pattern appears more progressive next week and a low pressure system will be swinging through during the Wednesday/Thursday timeframe.
This feature will bring widespread rain chances back to the area to finish out the week with the NBM currently giving 30-50% rain chances areawide Wednesday afternoon through Friday.
Still some model disagreement about placement and strength of this low, but confidence is high enough to warrant PoPs in the forecast.
We'll also see another drop in temperatures, and the spread is quite large right now given the uncertainty of the low's track.