March is a traditional "battleground" month for weather in the Cape Fear region. The winter patterns are retreating as spring and summer patterns attempt to take hold.

This weekend is shaping up to be one of those skirmishes. A brief, cool blob of air will roll through, followed by a resurgence of the southern ridge. In between, Fayetteville and the region will see an increasing chance of strong storms.

Portions of the region had a taste of that Thursday morning. A line of storms dumped more than 2 inches of rain on much of the northern region. To the south, totals were more in the quarter-inch range. This weekend's rainfall should be more widespread, with clearing skies and seasonable temperatures afterward.

On the bright side, there's no indication of plant-threatening weather anywhere near the region. Of course, that means more pollen in the upcoming weeks.

Northern stream energy is currently winning the battle for supremacy over North Carolina. A deep-level trough has pushed the southern ridge out of the area, leaving us cooler and gloomy.

But it's a brief victory. By Friday, the southern ridge will have begun to reestablish itself, with clearing skies after some scattered morning fog. After a morning low of 50 or so, look for highs in Fayetteville to reach the mid-70s.

Saturday will see another skirmish as a trough approaches from the mountains. Ahead of this, look for a warm boundary to slide north on Saturday, with increasing winds from the south and southwest. Temperatures will climb into the upper 70s in Fayetteville, and there's a chance of scattered showers in the afternoon. 

Rainfall shouldn't be impressive, but depending on timing, these showers may benefit from afternoon heating and destabilization. That's why the Storm Prediction Center has placed the region under a Level 2 risk for storms, mainly straight-line wind.

By Sunday morning, the front should push through the region, leaving us with clearing skies and cooler temperatures with a northwest wind. Highs will return to the upper 60s, dropping into the low 40s Monday morning.

After a couple of days of generally calm weather, there's another system expected to move into the Southeast by midweek. For now, it appears the primary energy will be to our south, but it's worth keeping an eye on it.

According to pollen.com, the relief from Thursday morning's rainfall will be short-lived. Look for counts to climb back to high levels by the weekend as maple and oak join the assault. 

Got a weather question? Chick Jacobs can be reached at ncweatherhound@gmail.cm or NCWeatherhound on Twitter.