Beautiful Thanksgiving Eve, major cold snap lurks through holiday weekend

Happy Hump Day! We’re just one day away from Thanksgiving, and our hot streak is running out of real estate. Enjoy the sunny skies and comfy highs this Wednesday afternoon while they last; afternoon temperatures will swell into the mid-to-lower 70s across the Piedmont and Foothills as stiff southwesterly breezes continue. A sharp cold front will slice through the Carolinas this evening, allowing for Arctic air to spill into the WCCB Charlotte viewing area overnight. Lows will dip into the 20s and 30s across the board as we wake up Thanksgiving morning; wind chills may fall into the single digits in the High Country at times.

Highs will struggle to clear the 30s and 40s from the High Country down to the Sandhills between Thanksgiving Thursday and Saturday as hard freezes in the teens and 20s settle in overnight. There’s no denying the cold, but abundant sunshine in the afternoons going forward will make the winter-like conditions a bit more manageable. Rain chances return to the Carolinas on Sunday as another rainmaking system sweeps in from the west. If you’re a fan of wintry weather, you’ll want to keep a close eye on Tuesday of next week. While models keep us wet right now, the setup is there for things to turn wintry if we can get some colder air to migrate farther south.

Today: AM fog. PM warm, sunny, and breezy. High: 73°. Wind: SW 10-20. Gusts: 25+

Tonight: Mostly clear. Brisk. Low: 37°. Wind: NW 5-15.

Thursday: Mostly sunny. Much cooler. High: 53°. Wind: NW 5-15. Gusts: 20+

Thursday Night: Clear and cold. Hard freeze likely. Low: 29°. Wind: NW 5-15.

Friday: Chilly sunshine continues. High: 49°. Wind: NW 5-15. Gusts: 20+