Winter Storm Warning | North Carolina Weather Noon

Good afternoon! I'm Aaron Jolly. Welcome to the North Carolina Weather Podcast for Monday, February 23rd. Two completely different days are happening across this state right now. Asheville is fighting blizzard conditions. The Triangle is sitting in sunshine at 46 degrees. That's a 20 degree spread.. And both are real. Let's start in the mountains, because that's where the drama lives. Winter Storm Warnings are up until midnight. Avery County has already picked up 8 inches at the high elevations. Ridgelines are getting hammered with gusts to 55 miles an hour. Snow showers taper off by 3 P.M., but the roads above 3,500 feet? Treacherous. Tonight lows crash to 17 degrees. By 5 A.M., wind chills drop to 17 degrees. If you're anywhere near the high country, stay put. Now slide east to the Piedmont. Sunny skies, but don't let that fool you. Highs only reach 43 degrees around 3 P.M. Gusts to 17 miles an hour this morning made it feel like 19 at sunrise. Tonight you're dropping to 25 by 7 A.M. Over in the Triangle, you're the warm spot at 46 degrees by 4 P.M. Still, lows fall to 27 overnight with wind chills near 20 Tuesday morning. Folks, the real story this week is what comes next. Tuesday and Wednesday bring a serious warmup. The Piedmont climbs to 49. And by Wednesday the Triangle flirts with 60. Feels like a different season. Then the plot twist arrives. Rain sneaks in after 4 A.M. Thursday morning. By Thursday afternoon, heavy rain is likely statewide. Up to an inch possible in the mountains. Highs push into the mid 60s before a cold front slams the door.. Dropping us back to the 40s by Saturday. The weekend dries out with sunshine and mid 60s. Normal for late February, but a shock after the ride we're about to take. I'll be tracking that Thursday system all week. Stick with us. That's your forecast — we'll be back tomorrow. Take care!