Charlotte faces ‘dangerous’ wind chills & low temps from Arctic blast, weather service says
Charlotte faces “dangerous” low temperatures and wind chills from an approaching Arctic air mass, National Weather Service meteorologists said in an alert Saturday.
“Confidence is high that it will be very cold,” forecasters said earlier on the social media site X.
The NWS also is monitoring the chance of a wintry mix from a separate weather system, according to the NWS office in Greer, South Carolina.
Charlotte has a slim, 20% chance of snow showers on Tuesday and a 50% chance Tuesday night and early Wednesday, according to the NWS forecast at 4 p.m. Saturday.
The larger concern is the wind chill, predicted to be 5 to 8 degrees in Charlotte Monday night and early Tuesday and again Tuesday night and early Wednesday, NWS meteorologist Ashley Rehnberg told The Charlotte Observer.
Wind chill is what the temperature feels like, including wind.
“This prolonged cold period meets the definition of a ‘cold wave,’” NWS meteorologists said in a special weather statement early Saturday. “Its duration sets it apart from cold snaps of the kind we see multiple times each winter, and the associated impacts are expected to be more significant.”
High electricity demand could case outages, forecaster said.
“Those who require electricity for heating or medical equipment should consider backup heat or electrical sources,” according to the NWS.
Extreme lows forecast across the region
Temperatures 15 to 20 degrees below normal are forecast in the Charlotte area, the mountains, N.C. foothills and Upstate South Carolina late Monday through Wednesday morning, according to the NWS.
A low of 21 degrees is forecast for Charlotte on Sunday night and early Monday; 16 degrees on Monday night and early Tuesday; 17 degrees on Tuesday night and early Wednesday; and 14 degrees on Wednesday night and early Thursday, according to the NWS.
Expected lows barely improve on Thursday and Friday nights, at a respective 21 and 22 degrees.
Frigid highs are likewise forecast after Sunday’s predicted high of 55 in Charlotte: 33 on Monday and Tuesday, 32 on Wednesday and 36 on Thursday.
Highs should edge up to 42 on Friday and 44 on Saturday, the forecast showed.
Those temperatures would represent the lowest of the winter season so far in Charlotte and elsewhere in the Carolinas, Rehnberg said.
Limit time outdoors, check on the elderly and other vulnerable people, and bundle up your pets, too, NWS urged.
This story was originally published January 17, 2025 at 6:00 AM.