Latest Triangle forecasts scaled back to 1-2 inches, disappointing snow lovers again

The Triangle braced Thursday for a fickle winter storm that originally tempted with deep drifts but arrived with broken promises, offering scaled-back snow totals of likely an inch.

Forecasters had called for as much as 6 inches around Raleigh earlier in the week. But the low-pressure system has since shifted east, bringing just 1-2 inches — likely closer to an inch — to the Triangle.

“I’ve been let down more times than I can count,” said ABC11 meteorologist Steve Stewart. “I’m from Colorado and I love snow, but we live in an area that’s at such a disadvantage it doesn’t take much to knock it down.”

‘Kind of odd’

Because of that shifting low-pressure zone, the heaviest snow dump should fall along and east of Interstate 95, which Stewart called “kind of odd.”

The only bright spot for Raleigh snow-lovers is that Thursday’s rain should trend toward wintry mix overnight and present light snow sticking on Friday morning.

But while Friday will rank among the coldest days in recent memory with wind chills in the teens, the afternoon and evening snowfall doesn’t look like it will stack up to early expectations.

“It’s going to feel like we moved to Detroit,” Stewart said. “We have a chance to add to those anemic totals, but the odds of a big snow event are looking bleak. It’s going to take a little bit of a miracle.”

Gov. Roy Cooper will hold a 3 p.m. press conference on the risks posed by winter weather statewide.