Sunday, March 16, 2014

The Winter That Won't Go Away ... won't go away

The same weather story that has enveloped the Carolinas since January is adding another chilly chapter this week, as we prepare to turn the calendar from winter to spring.

Yet again, a few mild days are being followed by an abrupt and major cool down, along with the threat of frozen precipitation.

The players are the same as in previous cases over the past two months.  A strong high pressure system with unseasonably cold air settles in place somewhere over the Great Lakes or Northeast (the Great Lakes, in this case), pumping an ample supply of cold air into lower levels of the Carolinas atmosphere.

Meanwhile, a low pressure system forms in the Gulf of Mexico and pushes across the Southeast. As the precipitation from the Gulf low moves into the Carolinas, it changes from rain to frozen precipitation in spots.

The last time, it meant a big ice storm for the northern part of North Carolina. This time, it appears as if the icing threat will be a lot lower. But freezing rain or drizzle is likely at times early Monday and again Monday night and Tuesday morning in parts of the Charlotte region, especially along the Interstate 40 corridor.

For the immediate Charlotte area, it means another round of a very cold rain.

The temperature drop will be noticeable today (Sunday), with highs only in the lower 50s and rain arriving. The rain will continue overnight, although it will taper off or possibly end Monday morning -- only to start again later in the day as another low pressure system arrives. On Monday, Charlotte will have temperatures in the mid and upper 30s with rain. Even Tuesday, it appears as if temperatures will recover only to the lower 40s for highs.

It will be Wednesday before we're able to break this latest cycle of cold and precipitation.

Along the I-40 corridor, some freezing rain is likely, especially Monday night. For now, it appears as if ice accumulations will be 1/10 of an inch or less. That is not enough to cause widespread power outages. But it's a situation we'll have to watch.

Farther to the north, this system means a heavy snow even for much of Virginia.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Winter 2014 = pure BS garbage.

Anonymous said...

At least we aren't having the winter that DC, PA, NYC are having. Get ready for the YANKEE INFLUX this summer. Half the families I know up there (and I am from there.....so I know a bunch), are flat-out sick and tired of the winters (some downright depressed for 5 months at a time) and are moving south. That's it. They've threatened for years. This winter has sealed the deal. They are moving this spring/summer.

Anonymous said...

Awesome, even more da** Yankees moving here destroying the once beautiful city I grew up in. Developers will tear down trees that can never be replaced (Charlotte has lost 70% of its trees in the past 25 years)schools will overflow, traffic will get even far worse than it already is, they won't register their vehicles here which means taxes will go up to pay for all the people who don't pay their way and their vehicles literally tear up the road. In the 70's and 80's the roads were literally as smooth as glass. Now they are horrifying. Go away Yankees, never come back

Anonymous said...

We go through this same thing to some degree every year. No matter how Spring-like the weather may have been during parts of the week, it's really still Winter. Like it or not. March is only half over. There are still frosts yet to come, even in April. And yes, maybe even snow or ice. No point in griping about it. It's all part of the Earth's cycle. You're alive to experience it, aren't you? What's to complain about?

Anonymous said...

I would much prefer all that snow than this endless parade of d--- ice storms every other week. destroyed trees and 450k without power for a week, and now another one on tap for Monday and Tuesday.

Spring? Spring? LOL. It could be June before we get some semblance of Spring. For nearly a year we have had wet, cool, garbage weather. Next it will be an endless string of hail, floods, and tornadoes. If you are moving from up north, keep going south. The weather here sucks too.

Anonymous said...

"If you are moving from up north, keep going south. The weather here sucks too."

So what are you stickin' around for? I-77, I-85, and I-95 all run south into the land of heat, humidity, and one million mosquitoes per acre. No point living where the weather sucks, is there?

Anonymous said...

North Carolina also has heat, humidity, and about 650 thousand mosquitoes per acre, so this is no paradise either. We live where we live, knothead.

Anonymous said...

The weather Sucks ! I sadly live in the northeast ( New York ) But . . . . .not for long !
I have had my fill of this bullshit and I'm outta here !