Charlotte could see snow as deep freeze blankets NC, 9” in the mountains, NWS says
Charlotte could see its first snow in nearly two years with an expected deep freeze this week, National Weather Service forecasters said Sunday.
No accumulations are expected if it does snow on Friday, according to the NWS Charlotte forecast at 10 a.m. Sunday.
On Saturday, NWS weather models showed a chance of snow early Tuesday in Charlotte, but the overnight forecast shifted to all rain for Tuesday and snow and rain on Friday.
The same frigid, wintry-mix air mass could dump up to 9 inches of snow Monday and early Tuesday on Swain and Graham counties bordering Tennessee, according to an NWS winter storm warning issued at 3:41 a.m. Sunday.
The highest totals are likeliest in and around the Great Smoky Mountains, according to a hazardous weather outlook bulletin issued by the NWS Greer office at 3:47 a.m. Saturday.
Transylvania and Henderson counties and the Caldwell, Burke and McDowell mountains should brace for “windy conditions and low temperatures in the low teens to single digits,” according to the bulletin. That could mean “bitter wind chill values of zero to 10 below early Wednesday morning,” forecasters said in the alert.
The chance of snow and rain in Charlotte early Tuesday was 30%.
Still, snowflakes could very well form as temperatures are predicted to plummet in the early morning hours on Friday, the forecast showed.
Charlotte’s predicted low on Friday morning stands at 32 degrees, which is the temperature where freezing occurs and snow can form.
Charlotte last saw snow on Jan. 29, 2022, when 2/10ths of an inch fell, Andrew Kimball of the NWS office in Greer, South Carolina said.
The flakes would end a long snow drought in Charlotte, which since the 1800s has had a historic average yearly snowfall that stands at 4.3 inches, Kimball said.
Low temps to plummet in Charlotte
The wintry weather forecast follows days of severe storms that spawned a deadly tornado in Catawba County and dumped heavy rains on much of the state.
Wintry weather will move into the NC mountains late tonight through Mon. Accumulating snow is expected, and likely heavy in and near the Great Smoky Mountains. A wintry mix will be briefly possible in areas just east of the mountains Mon. through early Tue. #ncwx #scwx #gawx pic.twitter.com/0Su5LO7VuC
— NWS GSP (@NWSGSP) January 14, 2024
Expect breezy winds on Saturday and slightly below-normal temperatures in Charlotte, the NWS office said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The NWS predicts frigid temperatures in Charlotte through the work week: 32 early Sunday, 30 early Monday, 34 early Tuesday, 21 early Wednesday, 23 early Thursday and 31 early Friday.
Skies should remain sunny on Saturday and Sunday, with predicted highs of 50 and 52, according to the NWS forecast.
Highs are forecast to fall to 47 on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, 45 on Tuesday, 38 on Wednesday, 46 on Thursday and Friday and 34 on Saturday.
After Tuesday’s expected precipitation, sunshine should return until Friday, which has the chance of snow and rain, the NWS forecast showed. Skies should clear by Friday night.
With storms moving out of our area, thoughts turn to the forecast. A frigid air mass moves in next week with much below normal temperatures, especially overnight lows. Keep up to date with the latest forecasts. #ncwx #scwx #gawx pic.twitter.com/3tEWv2riul
— NWS GSP (@NWSGSP) January 12, 2024
