NWS shows a snowflake in its weekend forecast for Charlotte: Could it happen?
Government forecasters say snow is once again possible in Charlotte, this time mixed in with showers.
The best chance for rain and “snow showers” would happen between midnight and the early morning hours on Sunday, according to the latest National Weather Service forecast at 11 a.m. Thursday.
In their online forecast, NWS meteorologists included an image of snowflakes for that period, while cautioning that the snow chances are still “slight” at 30%.
Temperatures that night should be cold enough for the fluffy stuff, however, with forecasters predicting a low of 32 degrees, the freezing temperature when snow can form.
Any moisture would come with a fast-moving weather system from the Gulf Coast, according to a post by NWS meteorologists in the Greer, S.C., office early Thursday.
“Guidance remains uncertain on how much moisture will lift into our area, but slight to low chance pops seems warranted,” according to the post.
“Profiles early Sunday are generally below freezing aloft, so it would mostly be a question of rain vs snow,” the forecasters said. “Moisture becomes more anemic as we get toward sunrise, so there probably won`t be much overlap with enough moisture for snow vs surface temperatures supportive of snow.
“Nevertheless, will carry a rain/snow mix with some areas all snow early Sunday, but no accumulations expected.”
WBTV meteorologist Al Conklin said even the chance of rain late Saturday and early Sunday is a remote 20%. The station is not predicting snow that overnight.
“There are still some nagging discrepancies in the long-range models as to the placement of a weekend wave of low pressure,” Conklin posted on the station’s website. “But most point to any wave being far enough away from Charlotte to keep our rain chances very low, while others don’t.
“Right now, we’re sticking with the idea of just a 20% chance for rain to return Saturday night into early Sunday morning, mainly in areas south/east of I-85, but that forecast is subject to change,” Conklin said.
The precipitation would scoot from the area by later Sunday morning, when sunshine is forecast with a high of 54 degrees, according to the NWS.
NWS forecasters have listed snow as a possibility in Charlotte a couple of other times recently, but the snow ended up in counties to the north of Mecklenburg.
This story was originally published February 4, 2021 at 12:26 PM.