CHARLOTTE, N.C. — For the first time in over a calendar year, Charlotte could see snow this weekend. Unfortunately for the snow lovers dying for wintry weather, it won't be much.
Chief meteorologist Brad Panovich says a storm system that will bring rain to the Carolinas this week will also bring snow to the mountains. And maybe — just maybe — a few flakes to the Charlotte metro area, too.
"We've still got the the hints of maybe a little bit of wet snow, but there is a lot of overhyping this event already online," Panovich said. "This is not going to be a huge snowfall event for most areas. In the mountains, it might be a different story."
Tracking snow chances in Charlotte, North Carolina
Panovich said the system that could bring wintry weather our way will build moisture over the Florida panhandle Friday. As it moves northeast, cold air from the upper levels of the atmosphere will mix with that moisture and produce snow and a wintry mix. If there's any wintry weather, it will be snow, not ice.
"This is not going to be an ice event, there's no freezing rain and likely no sleet at all," Panovich said. "This is either going to be rain or snow, it's kind of cut and dry. That's the clearest thing in this forecast."
As the system moves across the Carolinas, Panovich said we could see a band of heavy snow. This would be caused by a band of heavy rain dragging cold air to the surface and lining up with the heavy precipitation. But that's a tough thing to predict and at this point, virtually impossible to forecast.
When will it snow in Charlotte? (If it does at all)
So if there's going to be snow, it would be on Sunday. And don't expect much, if any, accumulation in most areas that see flakes, according to Panovich.
"We're probably going to see some really heavy rain on Super Bowl Sunday," Panovich said. "But the cold air just isn't there."
Most of the computer models are flat or trending down for snow in the Charlotte area. Panovich says this should be a telling sign, pointing out during a Weather IQ vlog Thursday that only 4 out of 51 European ensembles show 0.2" of snowfall for Charlotte.
"The mountains have the highest probability," Panovich said. "Outside of the mountains, you're in the single-digit percentages, maybe 10%. So not really off the charts."
How much snow? Spoiler alert: Not much
If there is snow, don't expect any of it to stick. Warm ground temperatures and heavy, wet flakes will make it nastier than a nice, fluffy powder.
"This is not going to be a big accumulating storm," Panovich said. "If snow does fall, it's going to melt quickly. It's going to be wet, it's going to be a lot of rain, extensive liquid."
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