Snow possible before Christmas in Charlotte. Higher totals forecast in NC mountains
Charlotte could see snow mixed with cold rain just before Christmas weekend from a “potent system” expected to deliver worse conditions to parts of the N.C. mountains, National Weather Service meteorologists said Saturday.
Any snow in Charlotte is forecast to be brief, with no accumulation expected, meteorologist Harry Gerapetritis of the NWS office in Greer, South Carolina, told The Charlotte Observer. If snow accumulation occurs, it would be Charlotte’s first of the season.
The forecast on Saturday afternoon showed a 60% chance of precipitation for Thursday night and early Friday, with no snow mentioned. The forecast for late Friday morning and afternoon shows a 30% chance of snow.
“Most of the precipitation that falls is going to be cold rain” Thursday night and early Friday, Gerapetritis said the latest weather models showed.
Parts of the North Carolina mountains over 5,000 feet could see “significant” snow and “dangerous” wind chills from the same system Wednesday night through Friday morning, according to an NWS hazardous weather outlook bulletin on Saturday. Light accumulation is possible across mountain counties, the NWS said. Exact snowfall amounts were uncertain.
The NWS forecasts only rain for Raleigh on Thursday and Friday, with a 60% chance Thursday and 50% chance Friday. Rock Hill has a 50% chance of showers Wednesday night and early Thursday and a 60% chance rest of Thursday.
As for Christmas weekend, meteorologists were more confident Saturday about Charlotte’s expected temperatures than chances of rain and snow. It was too early to say for sure about the type of precipitation, Gerapetritis said.
The NWS forecasts seven days out, and meteorologists should be more certain by Sunday afternoon if snow or rain could fall in Charlotte on Christmas, he said.
“Some models are hinting at a system around the holiday,” he said, but shifting weather patterns could change that forecast during the week, Gerapetritis said.
Friday night is forecast to be the coldest part of the weekend, with low temps in the upper teens, he said.
Highs in the lower to mid-30s are predicted on Saturday and a low of 20 Saturday night and early Sunday, according to the NWS.
This story was originally published December 17, 2022 at 3:25 PM with the headline "Snow possible before Christmas in Charlotte. Higher totals forecast in NC mountains."