Colder and Snowier North, Milder and Sunny South

The Weather story for the past few days has been the unusual difference in temps and weather patterns within the Southeast alone.  Typically even though temps may vary from Maryland to West Virginia to Virginia and into Western North Carolina – the higher elevations of NC are usually about the same temps as you’ll find at McHenry, Maryland – home to Wisp Resort at Deep Creek.  While temperatures would normally vary a few degrees colder into Snowshoe Mountain for example – they wouldn’t be that much different.  That is not the case over the last few days and that trend continues this week.

While the High Country of Western North Carolina with it’s 5000+ feet elevations (led by Ski Beech with 5,506’) will be experiencing 50s and 60° readings and mostly sunny skies from today through Saturday…places northward will be seeing a variety of wintry precipitation and considerably colder temps.

Check out the details as we highlight some of the areas today:

WISP RESORT – we see a HIGH today of around 32° with a 30% chance of snow (around one inch).  Tonight some freezing rain may take over where the snow leaves off.  Wednesday holds an additional shot (30%) of freezing rain and highs will warm to 47° (compared to 63° for a high tomorrow in the North Carolina Mountains !). Thursday brings another 50% chance of snow in the morning hours before warming to near 50° and then Thursday night will drop to 27° with more snow.  Friday?  You guessed it – snow – a 30% chance of it anyway and highs around 38°.  Friday night will be cold with lows around 20°.  Saturday should be sunny and cold with a high near freezing.

SNOWSHOE MOUNTAIN IN WEST VIRGINIA – should be mostly cloudy today after receiving 5” of snow yesterday! Today’s high should be around 34° and the low tonight should be near the same.  Wednesday and Thursday look like more in the way of undeveloped snow with highs in the mid 40s.  Thursday night dips to 20° with a chance of snow and Friday should be a high of 28° and SNOW.  Friday night looks to be dropping into the teens.  Saturday should be cold and sunny.

Drop down one state to WINTERGREEN VIRGINIA – and you’ll see more mild temps, such as that into Western North Carolina .  There’s a bit more moisture into Virginia so that makes for some chances of a wintry mix tonight as temps drop to 30° or so. Wednesday is also looking like Freezing rain before warming into the 50s and becoming light drizzle. Thursday should be very Springlike with highs around 69°. Friday and Saturday look sunny with highs in the 40s and lows near 28°.

When you get down into Tennessee and Western North Carolina you get more sunny and higher temps across the board.  Last year on this very day, much of the Western North Carolina Mountains received 5” or more of snow and the high was 39° (it was a heavy, wet snow) and the low hung in at 28°.  That won’t be happening anytime over the next several days as the high temps for the next few days will be unseasonably mild.  Actually the normals for today are 48° for the high and 27° for the low.  We will be some 14° warmer than normal tonight and we won’t see those kind of normal temps until Friday.

We’ll see sunny skies for the next several days until sometime on Sunday when things will cloud up a bit, signaling a change back to more normal late Winter weather.  The high today will be 55° or so and the low tonight will only drop to about 41°.  Wednesday will be even warmer with 63° for the high and 44° for the low.  Thursday will be about the same and then Friday may get back to somewhat more normal highs close to 50° and a low that MIGHT allow for some snowmaking, although we’re saying that it will stay just above freezing.

Saturday should be nice for skiers this weekend, with a high around 50° and a low near 32°.  Sunday brings back some cold air and just so that you won’t think that Winter is over, we may see some highs in the 30s and lows in the 20s on Monday with snow in the forecast.  That’s a little too far out so we’ll hold that for another day or two.

We DO have some slight chances of rain (in the 20-30% chance variety) on Tuesday night, Wednesday, Wednesday night and on Thursday.

Until Next Time!

Check out www.HighCountryWeather.com  for more information and also be sure to check out www.SkiSoutheast.com  for more weather information about ski resorts to the north!

Be sure to email photos, snow reports and comments to: [email protected]