CHARLOTTE, N.C. — If you're dreaming of a white Christmas, keep dreaming. It's going to be cold in Charlotte, but there won't be snow, chief meteorologist Brad Panovich says.
"The snow threat continues to minimize to almost zero," Panovich said. "Is it zero? No, but even the little threat we had going into the weekend has further trended down."
Panovich explained that there was indeed a favorable pattern for wintry weather last week. As part of his rules for winter weather forecasting, Panovich said in the 7-10 window you're looking for a favorable pattern. We had that, but as we get closer to Christmas, the chances of wintry precipitation, be it snow, sleet or freezing rain, have gone down.
"That pattern has completely kind of vanished," Panovich said. "What's happened is this has trended down over the weekend. Instead of looking at one model, I wanted to wait for a series of runs to look at a trend."
Panovich said there could be a slight chance of flurries Tuesday, should a storm system south of the Carolinas move slightly north to hit the cold air. There could be some sleet mixing in, but there won't be much if any, accumulation Tuesday.
No snow, but it will be cold!
To make up for the lack of snow, Mother Nature is making sure we have plenty of cold air. Seriously, this is an actual Arctic blast.
"Do not focus on snow," Panovich said. "it's not going to be a white Christmas unless you're in the mountains. You need to focus on the cold, this is legit Arctic air. You need to get your house, your animals, your car all ready for some of the coldest air we've seen in a couple of winters."
How cold will it get?
By Friday night, we're going to feel that extremely cold air and temperatures will reflect that. By Saturday morning, Charlotte could be in the teens with afternoon highs only climbing into the 30s Saturday and Sunday.
If you're heading to the Panthers game on Christmas Eve, be prepared for a cold day. It could be the coldest home game in franchise history. The previous record was Jan. 3, 2010, against the New Orleans Saints. Panovich says we could see afternoon highs in the mid-30s before another frigid night and Christmas morning.
"Christmas Day, we're in the heart of the cold air," Panovich explained. "It's just all over us and we're talking serious cold air."
If you're disappointed about the snow, that's understandable. Almost everyone loves the snow, but we can't stress just how cold it's going to be compared to what we're used to this time of year.
"I know snow is fun," Panovich said. "Everyone loves snow on Christmas, but the cold is the thing that causes danger. It causes people to get frostbite, causes pipes to burst, causes fires because people try to heat their homes. Cold is the real deal."
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