Sunshine and Melting

Good Afternoon Folks! We are finally back in the mix after digging out from over a foot of snow. The event is obviously over and NWS is putting out preliminary totals, which match our SNOWCAST map to an extent but of course those who live deeper into SW NC, such as Bryson City and so on were left with little to no snow. The highest amounts fell across the Southern Highlands Plateau and along the Great Balsams, with Cataloochee Ski Area also cashing in, maxing out close to 20". We'll wait till NWS publishes the final snowfall map to list notable totals for our region, which is likely to occur Tuesday or Wednesday.

The forecast looking ahead is for temps to dip into the upper teens - mid 20's tonight as clouds clear the region, so expect black ice anywhere snow is still on the ground as snowmelt is already underway.

Tuesday and Wednesday will make big dents into the snowpack as sunny skies sit overhead both days and temps warm to the upper 30's - mid 40's depending upon elevation, perhaps to the upper 40's Wednesday. Tuesday night features another cold night, but this go around the valleys will be colder than the ridgelines due to radiational cooling, with temps in the valley in the low 20's and the ridgelines closer to the low 30's. Wednesday night will be slightly warmer as clouds fill in ahead of the next system.

This next system will be a rain maker for most of us with a possible wintry mix for the highest spots, but we are not concerned at this point in time. Temps Thursday warm to the upper 30's - mid 40's once again, pushing to the low 50's by Friday. We'll circle back Wednesday morning with our official snowfall list from this weekend's event and to dive into the details on the Thursday rainmaker.