CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Tuesday is going to be a chilly, wet and miserable day across the Charlotte area with cold rain expected in the metro and a mix of wintry weather in the North Carolina mountains, forecaster Larry Sprinkle said.
Light rain moved into the Charlotte metro around 6 a.m., with freezing rain in areas of Ashe, Avery and Watauga counties. Some school districts closed or switched to remote learning as a precaution due to the inclement weather.
A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect until 5 p.m. Tuesday for Ashe and Watauga counties. A separate Winter Weather Advisory is in effect until 11 a.m. for Avery, Burke and Caldwell counties in the mountains and foothills.
Areas around Boone in Watauga County could see up to a tenth of an inch of accumulation of sleet and ice, forecaster Larry Sprinkle said. Higher elevations could see more ice. Tuesday's highs are only expected to reach the low 30s across the mountains, which is why there's freezing rain in the High Country.
Closer to Charlotte, the metro will see temperatures in the 40s all day Tuesday with widespread rain in the Carolinas. These areas include the cities and towns of Albemarle, Concord, Gastonia, Hickory, Lincolnton, Monroe, Mooresville, Rock Hill, Salisbury, Shelby, Statesville and Wadesboro. Areas east of Charlotte, including Rockingham, Cheraw and Lancaster, will be in the lower 50s.
Some showers could be heavy, particularly later in the afternoon on Tuesday.
"Around 4 p.m., there's a band of heavy showers tracking across the Charlotte area," Sprinkle said. "Just a raw, rainy day."
By late afternoon and evening, any freezing rain in the mountains is expected to transition to cold rain. Sprinkel said rainfall totals in Charlotte won't be that impressive, with up to about a half-inch possible in some locations.
Wednesday will see a slight warmup with forecast highs in the mid-50s before things return to the 40s on Thursday.
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