Charlotte could set a winter-weather record this year; one that’s never happened before

Charlotte is on pace to set a winter-weather record this year that some will love and others not so much, the National Weather Service office in Greer, South Carolina, reported this week.

Never before has the city gone without snow in winter. Well, at least since 1879, when the government started keeping track, NWS records show.

That includes the winters of 2011-12 and 2005-06, when only a trace of the fluffy stuff fell, according to the NWS.

Increasing the prospects of a snowless winter: Charlotte has “a greater-than-equal chance of above-normal temperatures” in February, NWS meteorologist Andrew Kimball said Thursday.

That’s according to the Climate Prediction Center, Kimball said.

The center, in College Park, Maryland, is operated by the National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Last weekend, the NWS Charlotte forecast called for a less-than-even chance of snow showers on Friday, Feb. 3, but that prediction later changed to all rain.

Charlotte has experienced near snowless winters in decades past, so this year’s trend isn’t unusual, Kimball said.

Only a trace fell in 1887-88, according to the records.

But never rule out snow in March, the records prove.

Charlotte hasn’t seen snow in March since 0.2 inches fell in 2018, but many may never forget the 4 inches that fell in 2009 and 10.3 inches in 1983.

“We could have above-normal temperatures in February and March” and still see a sudden change in weather patterns that deliver a trace of snow, Kimball said.