Charlotte Firmly in Crosshairs of Winter Weather Bringing Snow This Weekend
Current National Weather Service forecasts have the Charlotte area getting somewhere in the 4-7 inches of snow range.
A Winter Storm Watch has been issued for Charlotte and most of the rest of the surrounding region, as a powerful snowstorm is expected to impact the area this weekend.
Yes, we heard a lot about this same kind of thing last weekend. But this time, things are different. We promise. Sorta.
Current National Weather Service forecasts have the Charlotte area getting somewhere in the 4-7 inches of snow range. That would start falling likely late Friday, and continue throughout the day Saturday.
There isn't really an ice factor with this storm system, so it's a lot different than what we saw last week.
The Setup
This one is complicated. Very complicated. But here's a quick and dirty version. There's a lot of cold air already here. There's another polar vortex moving in and bringing some additional cold air with it.
At the same time, a low-pressure system off the coast is pushing some moisture inland (it's not really as simple as all that, but just go with it for now). And as all of those systems start to combine, it's creating the perfect scenario for good old-fashioned snow.
There's very little chance of it being anything but snow at this point. We're in all-or-nothing territory, basically. It'll be light, fluffy snow. Which is good for long-term impacts. But not great for snowmen and sledding.
What to Expect, and the Complications
Forecasting winter weather is a tricky science, and that is particularly true in North Carolina. But everything looks to be coming together on all of the models for this one at this point.
On the low end of the spectrum, the National Weather Service expects about five inches of snow in Charlotte, and more accumulation the further north and east you go from there.
But the general "probable" snowfall amount is currently falling into the 8 inch range.
A shift in where all that stuff happens could make this a bigger event, or a smaller event. Overnight models Thursday into Friday should clear this up quite a bit.
There's one additional complication, and that's in a weird confluence of the two systems at play. There could be a vertical path between the two storms that makes some areas get a lot less than others. We'll talk about that more tomorrow. For now, Charlotte looks to be on the outside of that channel that would likely head up the I-95 corridor.
