RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Snow has been hard to come by this winter in central North Carolina. Most of central North Carolina has only seen a trace of snow and that happened briefly on the night of Friday, Jan. 13 into Jan. 14.
Unfortunately for snow lovers, we are currently living through the ninth warmest January on record in the Triangle. That’s one of the reasons why every system that has moved through has produced rain and not snow.
We do remain in an active pattern though which always keeps the possibility of snow out there, but with the lack of really cold temperatures there has been more wet and not white landscapes.
There have been a few indications on some long range computer models and generic weather apps that central North Carolina could see some snow by the end of next week. Those forecasts are far from slam dunks though. If you consistently look at long range computer models like the American GFS or the European ECMWF you know they have predicted THREE different snow storms for our area this winter, but we have received ZERO inches of snow from those storms, so you always need ingest that information with some caution.
January is the month we receive most of our snow with 50 percent of our annual snow coming in the first month of the year. February, which starts next week, only sees about 25 percent of our annual snowfall, so we are running out of time for snow before spring arrives.
The CBS 17 forecast for next week concerning snow in central North Carolina looks like this:
There is another blast of Canadian cold air expected by the end of next week, Thursday into Friday. That cold air could meet up with some moisture in the form of chilly rain, but there is a small chance we could see a few snowflakes mix in with that rain late Thursday into Friday. Models have greatly reduced the chance for snow during this time periods. Additionally, as of right now we’re not expecting any accumulation, but it’s too early to know anything for sure. With only a trace of snow so far this season, we will be watching the system closely.
Follow the CBS 17 Storm Team on social media for the latest weather updates:
Chief Meteorologist Wes Hohenstein: Twitter, Facebook & Instagram
Morning Meteorologist Laura Smith: Twitter & Facebook
Meteorologist Rachel Duensing: Twitter , Facebook & Instagram
Meteorologist Lance Blocker: Twitter & Facebook
This forecast was prepared by the CBS 17 Storm Team and is based on the latest information available and years of weather forecasting in North Carolina. It was not produced by a computer like many forecasts you find on the web, social media and smart phone apps.
