Chance of snow in forecast for Charlotte region this week. Here’s the latest
The first snow of the season could fall in the Charlotte region later this week, according to the National Weather Service.
Forecasters say there is a 70% chance of rain overnight Thursday from the North Carolina mountains as far east as the Charlotte area. (Snow chances fall to “slight” as far east as Raleigh.)
It could start falling as a mix of rain and snow around 4 a.m. Friday, and is “likely” to continue until 8 a.m., when it should transition to rain, the National Weather Service says.
Low temperatures will stay above freezing at 36 degrees in the Charlotte region, so accumulation seems unlikely. The high Friday will be 39 degrees, forecasters predict.
However, lows will be around 32 degrees in the mountains, making the chances of accumulation a bit higher.
“Temperature profiles should support mostly snow across the mountains and possibly into the I-40 corridor with a transition zone probably setting up between roughly the I-40 and I-85 corridors outside of the mountains,” the NWS reported late Monday.
If that profile holds true, areas in Charlotte south of Interstate 85 will see more rain than snow, forecasters say. “For now there is much uncertainty as to a rain/snow line across the Upstate and Charlotte metro area,” the NWS said Tuesday.
Most of North Carolina is experiencing its coldest week of the season, with lows at the freezing mark and highs only in the lower 50s through Saturday.
The Triangle will be among the coldest spots, with lows at 31 degrees Tuesday and Wednesday nights and a high of only 48 degrees on Friday.
The snow possibilities are credited to a front that will spin “slowly east across the Deep South by Thursday night.”
“Deep moisture will return from the west through the day on Thursday ahead of this system. ... (The) track is currently forecast to pass just southeast of the western Carolinas on Friday, and this track is a classical setup for heavy snow potential in and near the southern Appalachians,” the NWS says. “Any banding of the precipitation could lay down very heavy snowfall in affected areas.”
The front could result in a hazardous weather alert along Interstate 40, forecasters say.
This story was originally published January 4, 2021 at 7:56 AM with the headline "Chance of snow in forecast for Charlotte region this week. Here’s the latest."