Bitter cold closes out workweek, watching for wintry weather this weekend
Lows dip into the teens and single digits for many as we wake up Friday morning.
Happy Friday Eve! Winter roars back with a vengeance over the next couple of days as the coldest air we’ve seen so far in 2026 arrives by Friday morning. Highs will struggle to clear the teens, 20s, and 30s across the board this Thursday afternoon as northwesterly wind gusts rip up to 30-40 mph. Lows will dip into the single digits and teens overnight. Temperatures recover into Friday, but remain below average; the Metro can expect to top out in the upper 40s for the final day of the workweek.
The frigid air is a big story, but wintry prospects this weekend will be stealing the spotlight soon. A strong, but relatively dry cold front sweeps into the Carolinas from the northwest by Saturday afternoon. Short-range models suggest a few scattered showers will roll into the WCCB Charlotte viewing area Saturday morning, with a wet snow/mix possible for locations north of I-40. Highs will swell into the mid-50s across the Piedmont and Foothills in the afternoon, but colder air sinks its teeth into the Carolinas overnight into Sunday, setting the stage for what could be a bona fide winter storm on Sunday.
Medium-range models are confident that a coastal low develops along the aforementioned front as it stalls out to our east; the three big questions are: a) where it forms, b) where it tracks, and c) how much moisture it collects. While there is general agreement that *somewhere* in the NC Piedmont sees snow, there’s still a lot of uncertainty as to where exactly it arrives. The American model brings potentially heavy snow to much of the WCCB Charlotte viewing area, while the European model keeps most of the moisture well to our east. For now, the best chances for impactful wintry weather lie just east of the Metro along U.S. Route 1 from Richmond County up to the NC-VA border. Regardless of what happens on Sunday, the start of next week looks dreadfully cold again, with lows likely in the teens and single digits as we wake up for our MLK Monday. Stay tuned – your WCCB weather team will keep you weather-wise!
Today: Cold sunshine. Blustery. High: 39Β°. Wind: NW 10-20. Gusts: 25+
Tonight: Clear. Frigid. Low: 19Β°. Wind: W 5-10.
Friday: Sunshine continues. A bit warmer. High: 46Β°. Wind: SW 10-20. Gusts: 25+
Friday Night: Clouds build. Noticeably milder. Low: 36Β°. Wind: SW 5-15.
Saturday: AM scattered showers. PM sunny & breezy. High: 54Β°. Wind: SW 10-20. Gusts: 25+
