Snowflakes? Maybe. Colder weather, rain? On the way.
Forecasters say conditions could be right briefly Friday morning for some snowflakes or frozen rain to fall in the Rock Hill area.
A major shift in weather across the eastern half of the United States is predicted to develop over the next three or four days, and National Weather Service meteorologists say much colder weather will blanket the Carolinas by the end of the work week.
Accompanying the colder temperatures will be a coastal low pressure system that forecasters say could cause light showers Friday morning. And temperatures could be cold enough for the showers to fall as snow or a rain-snow mix around daybreak.
Don’t get your hopes up about a snow day.
“Little if any accumulation is expected before a changeover to rain showers,” says Scott Krentz, of the National Weather Service office in Greer.
Krentz said any precipitation that reaches the Piedmont would be light and would start a few hours before sunrise. By 9 or 10 a.m., any precipitation would change back to rain, he said.
The bigger story will be the cold temperatures.
The past week has brought above-average afternoon temperatures to the Rock Hill area and most of the Carolinas. That will change with the passage of a strong cold front late Tuesday and early Wednesday. After reaching the 60s Monday and Tuesday, highs are only forecast to hit the mid 50s Wednesday and the mid 40s Thursday through the weekend.
Morning lows in the low and mid 20s are likely by the weekend.
Computer guidance is mixed on the extended forecast, but there are at least some indications that the much-colder weather could last well into mid or late December.
If nothing else, much-needed rainfall is expected Tuesday night and early Wednesday with the passage of the cold front. Forecasters say up to three-quarters of an inch of rain could fall.
The Rock Hill area has a rainfall deficit of more than 2 inches since the beginning of November.
This story was originally published December 4, 2017 at 11:20 AM with the headline "Snowflakes? Maybe. Colder weather, rain? On the way.."