Chilly midweek, wet & wintry mess Friday

Get ready for an awful Friday morning commute, regardless of whether you see rain, ice, or snow.
James Scott,

Happy Hump Day! All eyes are on Friday’s forecast – and rightfully so – but we still have a couple of days between now and then. Highs will struggle to clear the 30s and 40s across the board once again this Wednesday afternoon, despite plentiful sunshine. The entirety of the WCCB Charlotte viewing area will likely plunge below freezing once again overnight into Thursday. More clouds build in on Thursday, but slightly warmer air will also find its way into the Queen City, as highs rise into the mid-to-lower 50s for our penultimate day of the workweek. Lows around the Metro and points north will fall near freezing ahead of Friday’s system, setting the stage for what will likely be a wet and wintry day.

If you’re dreaming of a winter wonderland in the Piedmont, keep dreaming. That said, temperatures may be cold enough to support a wet snow or wintry mix along and north of I-85 as moisture begins to stream in from the southwest early Friday morning before transitioning to a cold rain after sunrise. Most areas south of I-40 won’t see any accumulation, but your Friday morning commute will be a mess, regardless of what comes down in your neighborhood. Piedmont and Foothills communities along I-40 and northward could see up to an inch of ice and snow as it stands right now. As usual, the best chance for meaningful accumulation lies in the High Country, which could pile up as high as 3-6″ above 3500′. Most of the lower elevations transition to rain or freezing rain by the afternoon before the moisture exits northeast Friday evening.

A few showers may linger through the weekend, but most models keep the WCCB Charlotte viewing area dry into early next week. Expect mostly cloudy skies to stick around on Saturday and Sunday as highs remain below average in the 40s and 50s. Outside of a few stray showers on Monday, the start of next week looks dry, cloudy, and chilly, with highs near 50Β° in the Metro.

Today: Chilly sunshine. High: 48Β°. Wind: Light.

Tonight: Clear and cold. Low: 32Β°. Wind: Light.

Thursday: Clouds build. A bit warmer. High: 52Β°. Wind: W 5-10.

Thursday Night: Mostly cloudy. Chilly with rain and snow late. Low: 35Β°. Wind: NE 5-10.

Friday: AM rain/snow/mix. PM cold rain. High: 39Β°. Wind: NE 5-10.