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What exactly is a Winter Weather Advisory

Winter Weather Advisories differ from where you live in the Carolinas. Learn what the criteria is for your area.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte, N.C. - It has been an active winter thus far with a lot of blue winter weather advisories popping up across our area. Since the beginning of the year, 35 of these advisories have been issued for North Carolina which is the 3rd most in 15 years. The NWS out of Greer/Spartanburg (which covers most of our area) has issued 11 of these). 

But what does it mean when your County is under a Winter Weather Advisory? 

Well this advisory has many different faces and can have different criteria depending on where you live, the duration and what will fall from the sky.

When classifying Winter Weather Advisories and Winter Storm Warnings there is a split between the Mountains and the rest of the area. This line cuts through Burke and Caldwell Counties dividing the Mountains from the Foothills.

This map here is the criteria for anticipated accumulating snow/sleet for a storm that will last 12 hours or less. If anyone in the green is forecasted to get up to an inch of snow and sleet, a Winter Weather Advisory will be issued.

But you would need up to 2 inches of snow and sleet to prompt an advisory for the Mountains in the yellow. And Ashe County’s on its own at 3 inches.

Credit: GSP NWS

Anything higher than this will often trigger an upgrade to a Winter Storm Warning. Up to 3 inches for most of the area in orange, 4 inches for the Mountains and 5 inches for Ashe County.

Credit: GSP NWS

This range is an inch higher for each region if the storm is expected to lasts up to 24 hours. Below shows the criteria for a 24 hour Winter Storm Warning.

Credit: GSP NWS

But what about freezing rain?

If any of the area has a chance for a trace amounts of ice to less than ¼ inch… A winter Weather Advisory will be issued.

It only takes a little ice to cause problems and accumulating ice is one of the most dangerous parts of winter weather. As we recently saw in Texas…

RELATED: Live coverage: 5 fatalities confirmed in pileup crash on I-35W in Fort Worth; 75-100 vehicles involved, officials say

BUT if over 0.25” of ice is anticipated then those counties would be upgraded to an Ice Storm Warning which is rare for our area. Where our local NWS has only issued 4 since 2010.

So pretty much for the Greater Charlotte area, it doesn’t take a lot of snow, sleet or ice for us to be branded with a Winter Weather Advisory

Just like some are seeing to start the weekend.

RELATED: FORECAST: Cloudy, wet, and cold for the next 3 days.

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