The average and calm weather pattern is about to change as a powerful winter storm after another march towards the region.
The energy of a storm that produced hurricane-force winds through parts of Southern California has migrated 2,000 miles across the United States. Forecast models suggest that his next act may be the most impressive.
The system moved through the Ozarks Wednesday evening and snow fell on more than a million people across northern Arkansas and southern Missouri. Snow continued to fall Thursday morning, where total snow levels could reach 3 to 5 inches, even with more than half a foot possible at elevations above 1,800 feet.
As the system sinks further south on Thursday, it will take advantage of the humidity of the Gulf of Mexico. This proves one of the two key ingredients needed to produce major snowfall in the southern US. The other comes in the form of cold temperatures that we do not find during the entrance front.
Temperatures are expected to fall 5 to 10 degrees below the seasonal averages on Thursday and Friday in the region, which will lead to snow accumulation by the millions as the weekend approaches.
Winter storm clocks are in effect in eastern Tennessee, northern Georgia, western North Carolina and southern Virginia from Thursday afternoon to Friday, according to the National Weather Service.
The city of Charlotte is on alert for a slew of accumulated snowfall from Friday morning through Friday afternoon. The location of the low pressure center and the amount of cold air you will have to work with will be the limiting factors in making Queen City the first snowfall of the season.
Contrary to popular belief, snowfall in Charlotte is not uncommon. The city averages about 4 inches of white stuff a year, roughly the same as Seattle, Washington.
“Charlotte has never spent an entire winter without at least a trace of snow since records were kept in 1879,” said CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar.
At higher altitudes, confidence is much greater that the combination of cold air and moisture available will produce a country of winter wonders in parts of the Smokies and Appalachians. Up to 6 inches of fresh snow could fall in the western parts of North Carolina in places like Highlands, Asheville and Boone. The Beech, Sugar and Grandfather Mountain ski slopes expect 6 to 8 inches of new snow. Higher snow levels are expected to be on the east-facing slopes, as east-facing uphill winds will increase the climb and extract the most impressive snow levels. As the air is forced to rise, it will cool and condense even further, leaving behind up to 10 inches or more of snow in these favorable regions of western North Carolina.
Locations like Hickory, Winston-Salem and Greensboro could be seen accumulating snow from Thursday night through Friday afternoon with up to 1 to 2 inches. Light accumulation is also possible as far north as Blacksburg and Roanoke, West Virginia.
Although the winter season is a little over two weeks old, it resembles the winter of 2010-11 in the southern United States. That year was marked by numerous cold air crises and impressive snowfall.
“Cities like Atlanta and Charlotte recorded above-average snow totals,” CNN meteorologist Michael Guy said. “What makes this remarkable is that the winter of 2010-11 was also a year for La Niña, which would normally indicate warmer, drier conditions for the region.”
The next round could produce even more widespread snow
While it’s too early to say for sure, the models also hint at a secondary system that could observe a wider area of the region stretching from Texas, toward the Gulf Coast, and southeast. . The weekend weather maker is expected to move across the Pacific Northwest on Friday and quickly skirt south to the Four Corners region on Saturday.
Here, some models suggest that the system could be approaching the Gulf of Mexico, supplying it with plenty of moisture to create a winter mess in the Lone Star state on Saturday-Sunday afternoons. The snow blanket continues from Texas, south and to New York starting Tuesday.
Other models are still not as bullish with the power of the storm.
And just Wednesday, many computer models showed the humidity of this storm system as far south as Florida, where it won’t be cold enough to snow.