CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Bundle up, Charlotte. The Arctic blast is here and the weather is about to get dangerously cold with sub-zero wind chills in the Carolinas Friday into Saturday.
Friday's high temperature has already hit and things will only get colder as we go throughout the day, meteorologist Chris Mulcahy said. This will set the stage for one of the coldest Christmas Eves on record.
Temperatures Friday morning dropped as much as 10 degrees in 30 minutes as the Arctic front moved over the Charlotte area, chief meteorologist Brad Panovich said. At 9 a.m., Charlotte was at freezing and isn't expected to climb above 32 degrees again until Sunday afternoon.
A High Wind Warning is in effect for the North Carolina mountains until 10 p.m. Friday. Gusts up to 60 mph are possible, which can lead to downed trees and power lines. The Charlotte metro is under a wind advisory during that same time. Wind gusts up to 50 mph are possible in cities and towns surrounding Charlotte, including Albemarle, Concord, Gastonia, Lincolnton, Mooresville, Rock Hill, Salisbury, Statesville, Waxhaw and York.
The high winds caused major problems across the area Friday morning with widespread power outages across the region. More than 10,000 Duke Energy customers lost power due to the weather.
The Charlotte metro area will be under a Wind Chill Advisory from 7 p.m. Friday until Saturday morning. This is the first wind chill advisory in Charlotte since 2015, according to Panovich.
As Friday progresses, temperatures will continue to drop with lows plummeting into the teens Friday night. The wind chill will make it feel at or around zero degrees in Charlotte, while the North Carolina mountains could feel like 30 below zero due to the wind chill.
"It is going to be dangerously cold, life-threatening cold," Larry Sprinkle said. "The wind chill temperature in Charlotte is 0 degrees."
In response to the conditions, Beech Mountain Resort announced it would be closed for skiing and snowboarding Friday and Saturday.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper issued a state of emergency Tuesday ahead of the dangerously cold weather. Cooper's action allows the state to activate emergency operations, waive regulations on transportation and assist in transporting critical supplies to areas in need.
“We know that with the extremely low temperatures North Carolinians will need propane and other heating fuel to keep their families warm,” Cooper said in a news release.
The WCNC Charlotte weather team has declared Weather Aware days for Friday, Saturday and Sunday due to the dangerous cold and high winds in the forecast. Any time a person sees the Weather Aware label on the forecast online or on social media, they know it's really about their personal safety, their family's safety and protecting their property.
Christmas weekend forecast
Lows will drop into the mid-teens with wind chills in the single digits for the area Saturday morning. The current forecast low on Christmas Eve is 13 degrees with the high temperatures only expected to reach 32 degrees. Christmas Day will be similar with morning lows around 15 degrees. Afternoon temperatures will climb into the mid-to-upper 30s.
In addition to the cold temperatures, it will be windy across the Charlotte area through Saturday. Strong gusts could result in some downed trees, power outages and wind chill values in the single digits across the state. The mountains could see sub-zero wind chill values this weekend.
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