First Warn Winter Weather Alert:
There is a Winter Storm Warning in effect for parts of the mountains for tonight and Tuesday. A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for some foothill counties.
Forecast:
There was a mix of clouds and sunshine today with highs this afternoon in the 40s to near 50. The clouds are part of a fast but strong storm system that will be moving our way later tonight. There are already winter storm watches out for parts of the western Carolinas as snow and sleet will likely start in the mountains late tonight. Across the piedmont, there could be some sleet that mixes in early Tuesday morning before it all changes to a cold rain. Temperatures overnight will drop down to around 34° by morning.
Tuesday will be a cold and wet day for most of the area except the mountains where snow and sleet will fall most of the day. Accumulations in the mountains could be around 3-5" by the time Wednesday arrives. While here in Charlotte and the rest of the piedmont there will be .50-75" of rain. Highs on Tuesday will struggle to reach 40°.
Wednesday, behind the storm system winds will become gusty as cold and dry air rushes into the Carolinas setting up a very cold and dry mid-week pattern. Highs each day will be in the lower 40s and morning lows will be in the low 20s Wednesday and Thursday.
Friday into Saturday a strong storm will be moving out of deep Texas and tracking across the deep south. This could be a very interesting storm as cold air is in place and moisture moves north over that cold air spreading wintry precipitation across areas of the deep south. Right now oddly enough this maybe mainly to our south over parts of the mid-lands of South Carolina down into the low country. There is still many things to watch as it develops and changes in the storm track could bring yet more winter weather to the Carolinas by late Friday into Saturday.
Stay tuned to the First Warn Storm Team as we track this week's storm. You can get updates 24 hours a day right here or by following Brad on Twitter.
