Charlotte may get snow this afternoon, says National Weather Service

Charlotteans went to bed last night believing we’d be spared the snow predicted to fall in the eastern part of the state, but the forecast has begun to change.

The National Weather Service is saying the Charlotte area has a 30 percent chance of snow flurries Wednesday afternoon, most likely between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m.

At one point, experts believed the city could get a half inch of snow this evening. However, the weather service says now that it expects “little or no accumulation.” It will be cloudy during the early evening, then gradual clearing, with a low around 19.

The National Weather Service says the snow forecast remains uncertain, though it is more likely in eastern Union County than in Mecklenburg County.

WBTV Meteorologist Al Conklin says the forecast change is because the low pressure system heading up the coast is shifting slightly. That storm is expected to bring up about an inch of show to Raleigh and up to five inches to coastal counties. The worst hit areas will be between Kinston and Elizabeth City in eastern North Carolina. Snow fall will also be heavy between Charleston and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

“The storm system appears to have formed a little farther west than previously forecast, so there is some real concern that the blanket of snow could push a little farther west,” Conklin says. “This means there could be at least a period of light snow or flurries late Wednesday into the evening hours for neighborhoods along and southeast of Interstate 85.”

This is a developing story and the Observer will continue to update this as forecasts change.

This story was originally published January 3, 2018 at 8:21 AM with the headline "Charlotte may get snow this afternoon, says National Weather Service."