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Wintry January 23rd-27th 2026

Here is what I posted on Facebook earlier today from my personal account in case anyone was curious here.

BLUF:
- A major winter storm is possible for much of the Southern & Southeastern US near the end of this week into this weekend, including the Carolinas
- Unseasonably cold temperatures are likely through most of next week.

An unusually favorable weather pattern for snow/ice is setting up later this week into next weekend (Fri - Sun) over the Southern US, including the Carolinas.

Later this week, a big chunk of the "polar vortex" will dive down into southern Canada, feeding unusually cold air into the East-Central US. Meanwhile, a large stream of tropical moisture from the Gulf of America & Tropical Eastern Pacific will move northward along the subtropical jet stream and "overrun" this cold arctic air mass. This will likely cause a very extensive area of snow, sleet, and freezing rain to break out from the Southern Great Plains up through mid-Atlantic states, with the Carolinas very likely in the direct path of this storm. Wintry precipitation could start as early as late in the day on Friday or Friday night in the Carolinas and possibly continue through Sunday.
While confidence in details like amounts, timing, etc is still low for now, the most likely outcome for eastern and central North Carolina is that this storm produces a wintry mix of predominately sleet that is mixed with freezing rain and snow. Greater chances for snow currently look to be to our north into Virginia, while freezing rain/ice may be an even bigger concern just to our south down into coastal North Carolina, South Carolina, & Georgia. Regardless, significant to major accumulations of snow, sleet, and/or freezing rain/ice are possible in/around east-central North Carolina late Friday through Sunday.

In addition to the snow and ice, temperatures are likely to be unseasonably cold during and after this potential winter storm passes. Depending on how much snow and ice falls from this potential winter storm, low temperatures in the teens or single digits are certainly possible in eastern-central North Carolina. In fact, another shot of Arctic air is likely to move into later in the following week and prolong this unusually intense cold spell.

This also means that whatever snow or ice that falls late Friday through Sunday would have the potential to stick around for many days afterwards! Hence, **if** this winter storm materializes and you are significantly impacted by it, you will want to plan and prepare accordingly for potential power or travel issues for at least a few to several days.

I will try to provide updates as needed on this upcoming potential winter storm and unseasonably cold weather over the coming days.
- Eric W.
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griteater said:
Far from a done deal for anyone, anywhere, but this is why I never, ever worry about precipitation / moisture / dry La Niña etc. Get the right setup in the wayi things are supposed to be aligned and the gulf won’t let you down
Click to expand...
Believe this ZR frame (wherever it does eventually set up) has a high probability of occurring with this event.
 
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