Snow pellets, hail in Charlotte. Heavy snow in mountains. A look at the weekend forecast.

Joe Marusak
·3 min read
2

Severe storms could dump snow pellets and hail on the Charlotte area and up to 10 inches of snow in the mountains this weekend, National Weather Service meteorologists said.

Thunderstorms with gusty winds and small hail swept through the metro area between noon and 3 p.m. Friday, meteorologist Clay Chaney of the NWS office in Greer, South Carolina, told The Charlotte Observer.

In a Saturday morning alert, the NWS warned of another round of showers and thunderstorms Saturday afternoon.

“The strongest showers and storms will be capable of producing gusty winds and small hail in addition to cloud-to-ground lightning,” according to the NWS bulletin issued at 4 a.m. Saturday.

The warning area included Mecklenburg and surrounding counties and Upstate South Carolina.

On Saturday, the Charlotte region could see a fleeting wintry mix, including “a brief shot of snow pellets or graupel,” according to an NWS bulletin.

“Graupel are soft, small pellets formed when supercooled water droplets (at a temperature below 32°F) freeze onto a snow crystal ... ” according to the National Severe Storms Laboratory of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“Graupel particles are fragile and generally disintegrate when handled,” NSSL officials say in a section of the NSSL website titled, “Severe Weather 101: Hail Types.”

Snow in the NC mountains. A wintry mix in Charlotte?

The same fast-moving weather system dumped snow and ice in the North Carolina mountains.

Saturday morning, the bad weather forced rangers in Great Smoky Mountains National Park to close Newfound Gap Road (Highway 441) between Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and Cherokee.

Snow and ice have periodically closed the road since at least Jan. 29. The road could stay closed until 5 p.m. Sunday, according to DriveNC.gov.

The system could deliver up to 8 inches of snow in Avery, Madison, Yancey, Mitchell, Swain, Haywood and Graham counties in the North Carolina mountains, according to an NWS hazardous weather bulletin on Saturday.

“Generally 1-2” will be possible, but the highest elevations above 4000 ft may see 2-4” with a swath of 4-8” possible across the Smokies (sic) above 5000 ft,” according to the NWS alert. “Any high elevation roads may experience a few slick spots.”

Up to 10 inches of snow could fall during the Friday and Saturday systems combined in Newfound Gap and Mount Guyot in Swain County and along the Appalachian Trail in North Carolina, Chaney said.

The trail runs through all of the counties listed in the NWS hazardous weather bulletins for Friday and Saturday, Chaney said: Avery, Madison, Yancey, Mitchell, Swain, Haywood and Graham.

Clingmans Dome, the highest peak in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, could also see up to 10 inches of snow, Chaney said.

Charlotte weather forecast, radar this weekend

Charlotte had a 50% chance of showers on Saturday, mainly between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., according to the NWS Charlotte forecast at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Sunday and Monday should be mostly sunny before a chance of showers moves in on Tuesday, the NWS forecast said. Expect mostly cloudy skies on Wednesday, with a 40% chance of showers after noon and a 50% chance at night.

Thursday and Friday should be mostly sunny, NWS forecasters said.

Highs are predicted to rebound from 58 on Saturday and 55 on Sunday to 69 on Monday and Tuesday and 73 on Wednesday, according to the forecast.

An expected cold front could then drop highs to a respective 59 and 56 on Thursday and Friday, NWS meteorologists said.