The cold continues, with snow expected Friday evening

This - Wednesday - morning temperatures bottomed out in the teens around Mecklenburg county. Boydton won the "prize" for lowest thermometer reading with 16º. The current Arctic blast looks to continue for a while longer, keeping the chill firmly in place. This afternoon's forecast high of 37º is a far cry from the average of 50º for this date in January.

Sunshine will prevail today, with another very cold night lurking ahead. Thursday will be a carbon copy (folks too young for that reference should look it up!), with similar temperatures to today's but with slightly more vigorous northwest winds. Wind chills both days will be 5-10 degrees below the air temperatures, so bundle up when venturing outdoors.

Then, Friday will bring the run-up to what appears to be a genuine snowstorm. Unlike the mixed precipitation earlier this week the next storm system will track far enough south of the county for snow to prevail. The precipitation will arrive after dark Friday and end just after sunrise Saturday morning. This graphic shows the National Weather Service's accumulation forecast:

The upcoming storm's exact track still has some uncertainty. A variance of just 50 miles north or south would mean higher or lower snow totals. Thus the National Weather Service provided the above "most likely" forecast, along with a "low end" (<1") and a "high end" (5+") to cover the spread. By Thursday afternoon and evening that variance will shrink as the storm's track becomes clearer.

Thus the beginning of the weekend looks like a good time to dust off those snow shovels.