Snow and Cold on the Way NC 1-16-13

The January thaw is coming to an end and snow and colder weather is in our not so distant future.  The snow forecast for tomorrow has drastically changed with last night’s model runs and it now appears that we are going to see a significant snow event beginning around midday tomorrow.  It’s not very often you have a flood watch and a winter storm watch at the same time!

A cold front continues to linger in the vincinity of the region.  It’s been here the past few days and is the main reason for the impressive rainfall totals.  Showers will continue this morning and into the early afternoon before tapering off this afternoon.

Another low pressure wave will track along the frontal boundary tomorrow.  Originally, this feature was expected to stay well to our south, but the newest model guidance has put it further north. As a result, showers re-appear tonight as the low tracks northeast into the central and northern portions of Georgia and South Carolina.  Precip of the liquid kind will greet you when you wake up in the morning before changing over to snow sometime around lunch tomorrow as colder air begins to filter in.  Heavy snow is expected tomorrow afternoon and into the nighttime hours.  

Model forecast snowfall totals are rather impressive at this point.  Anywhere from 2-10″ is possible across the region based on the most recent GFS and NAM runs.  It will be interesting to see how quickly the snow starts to accumulate on the warm, wet ground.  Regardless, all indications are that Friday morning will see a blanket of white across the High Country.

High pressure quickly moves in Friday as does the sunshine.  It should be a pretty awesome bluebird, powder day at the ski areas.  In general, the entire weekend looks to be rather pleasant with sunshine and near normal temperatures persisting.  Sunshine continues into Monday but things will begin to turn colder.  Some of the coldest temperatures of the winter arrive next week.

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