Snow? Maybe. More cold on the way
By Steve Herring
Published in News on January 20, 2014 1:46 PM
Today's mild weather will give way to a chance of snow and sub-freezing wind chills accompanying a strong cold front that will move across the area Tuesday afternoon.
There is a 30 percent chance of rain after 2 p.m. Tuesday with snow possible between 8 p.m. and midnight. The ground will be warm and little to no accumulation is expected
Today's high was expected to be around 61 degrees with Tuesday's high reaching near 54 degrees.
But temperatures will fall rapidly to around 18 degrees behind the cold front and gusty northwest winds will result in wind chills ranging from 5 to 10 degrees from late night until around 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Wednesday's forecast is for sunny skies, but temperatures are not expected to climb above freezing with a northwest wind of 7 to 14 mph and gusts as high as 24 mph.
"It is still kind of an evolving situation," said Brandon Vincent, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Raleigh. "People should be aware of possible impacts on the roads Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning."
Computer models have had difficulty predicting what the current weather patterns will produce and subtle changes could have implications in the forecast, he said.
The possibility of snowfall appears "marginal" for Wayne County, Vincent said. However, it is possible the area could receive a dusting of less than one inch, he said.
"The high Wednesday may not even get to freezing," he said. "(The low) could be in the single digits. It is not as cold as it was two weeks ago, but it is much colder than normal."
Temperatures will moderate into the 40s by Thursday before dropping again into the mid-30s on Friday, he said.
Nighttime lows Saturday and Sunday morning will be in the mid- to upper-20s.