Light wintry mix ahead of another cold weekend

A busy upper air "highway" is keeping conditions unsettled at the surface here in Mecklenburg County. A couple of shortwave troughs zipping across the region this midweek period will bring a mixture of rain and snow, with a slight chance of sleet as well. The wintry precipitation won't amount to much given relatively warm temperatures and a limited amount of available atmospheric moisture.

Skies will be mostly cloudy today (Wednesday), accompanied by a northeasterly breeze generated from a surface low pressure scooting eastward across North Carolina. Afternoon highs will top out near 40º, with local temperatures remaining above freezing until this evening. The snow/sleet combination looks to begin near the dinner hour but won't total up to much. This NWS Wakefield probability graphic shows the area has only about a 30% chance (less than a coin flip) of seeing more than an inch of frozen stuff:

Precipitation will end during the wee hours overnight, and by dawn Thursday skies will be clear. Temperatures will begin the day in the mid-20s, so refreezing of wet surfaces is likely. By tomorrow afternoon local thermometers will again climb to near the 40º mark. Sunshine and a dry northerly wind will aid the melting process.

Then Friday afternoon yet another cold front will cross through, yanking down Arctic air for another cold weekend. This frigid air invasion looks to be brief, and next week then appears to bring relief in the form of more average February temperatures. We can hope!