Messy Start to Weekend

The first Friday of the year is off to a frigid – but dry – start. Highs will struggle to get out of the 30s and 40s as an area of high pressure continues to filter cold air in from the north. Mostly sunny skies should carry through the afternoon before more clouds build in by the evening. An incoming area of low pressure will bring a messy start to the weekend as rain, sleet, and snow slide toward the Carolinas. While most of the area will stay decidedly wet, areas along and north of I-40 in the Piedmont and Foothills will get in on some freezing rain and wet sleet at times Saturday morning. A wet wintry mix will also fall in the High Country through Saturday’s first half. Most communities outside of the highest elevations will transition to rain by the afternoon before the moisture exits to the northeast. Sleet and snow accumulations will approach an inch or two in areas above 3000′, while ice totals from freezing rain in the Foothills and northern Piedmont will end up around a tenth of an inch, with locally higher amounts possible.

Drier and warmer air arrive behind the system as we close out the weekend; highs will end up in the upper 30s, 40s, and 50s on Sunday. Some northwesterly flow mountain snow is possible in the morning and afternoon, but likely won’t amount to much. The dry and sunny trend continues into Monday before another wet and windy mess arrives on Tuesday. Severe weather doesn’t look particularly likely right now around the Metro and northwestward for the second day of the workweek, but we’ll need to stay weather-wise towards the south and east.

Today: AM mostly sunny. PM clouds build. High: 48°. Wind: W 5-15.

Tonight: Overcast. Rain late. Low: 34°. Wind: SW 5-10.

Saturday: Scattered rain. Wet wintry mix NW. High: 44°. Wind: W 5-15.

Saturday Night: Drying and clearing out. Low: 37°. Wind: SW 5-10,

Sunday: Mainly sunny and warmer. Mountain snow showers. High: 54°. Wind: SW 5-15.