Snow flurries, wintry mix possible Saturday night

Fishel said he is "very confident" that the Triangle will see some flakes. "However, in terms of being an impact storm, not so great a chance," he added.

A system coming from the northern Plains will sweep southeast on Saturday. Because it cannot tap into moisture off the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic Ocean, it won't have a lot of precipitation to dump across the region, Fishel said.

The dry air across North Carolina and soil temperatures in the upper 40s and low 50s also will prevent much precipitation from reaching the ground and sticking, he said.

"When there's that much warmth near the surface of the earth, that's going to have an effect in terms of snow falling and melting," he said.

Saturday's high will be in the mid to upper 40s, and temperatures will remain at or above freezing late Saturday into Sunday.

"It's going to be really difficult for this (system) to cause any problems," Fishel said. "It is highly unlikely that the roads are going to be anything other than wet."

The temperatures dipped low enough on Friday that shelters in Raleigh opened up for anyone in need to spend the night. The Raleigh Rescue Mission said about 20 women and children had come in from out of the cold.

Temperatures will remain below normal into the middle of next week, with highs in the low 40s and overnight lows in the low 20s.