Major cooldown brings chance for mountain snow in Carolinas: Latest forecast

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - A strong cold front will cross the Carolinas Thursday, ushering in gusty winds and cooler temperatures.

With the passage of the front, winds will top out near 30 mph Thursday afternoon under partly sunny skies. There may be a couple of showers around in the mountains; otherwise, the day will be dry.

Early afternoon highs will make it to the mid-60s in the foothills to the upper 60s to lower 70s around Charlotte and the Piedmont.

Snow chance in mountains

Skies will clear Thursday night and temperatures will fall back to the upper 30s to lower 40s along with chilly breezes holding on. In the mountains, rain showers in the evening will turn to snow overnight as lows fall to near freezing there.

There may be a small, slushy accumulation around the Boone area (mainly on non-road surfaces) with higher elevations on the North Carolina-Tennessee line picking up a couple of inches of wet snow.

Chilly breezes will blow all day Friday. The day will start with sunshine but will end with mostly cloudy skies. There may even be a spotty shower around the Piedmont during the afternoon. Highs Friday will only top out in the mid to upper 50s in Charlotte.

Frost likely this weekend

Mostly sunny skies are forecast for both weekend days with highs in the 50s, and lows in the 20s and 30s.

A lingering chilly breeze on Saturday will settle down overnight. There will likely be patchy frost around the Charlotte area (first time this autumn season) Sunday morning with below-freezing low temperatures areawide.

We will still be close to freezing in Charlotte Monday morning as we go back to work and school and highs will hold in the chilly 50s Monday afternoon. Highs will return to the seasonal 60s by the middle of next week, but we’re unlikely to get back into the warm 70s again anytime soon.

Forecast at a glance

• Thursday: Sun and clouds, gusty breezes, falling afternoon temps
• Friday: AM sun, PM clouds, gusty breezes all day, 50s
• Weekend: Sunshine, chilly 50s by day, 20s and 30s at night

Download the free WBTV Weather app on your mobile device to get weather alerts and the latest forecast on the go. You can also catch the latest forecast on WBTV’s streaming app -- find it in the app store on your smart TV or streaming device.