Weather

Triangle can break record for most consecutive hours below freezing

The all-time record for consecutive hours spent below freezing at Raleigh-Durham International Airport is 159 hours. That record could fall this weekend.

Posted 2018-01-05T13:03:32+00:00 - Updated 2018-07-13T19:19:06+00:00

What exactly is wind chill?

We could break a 36-year-old weather record this weekend, but it might not be one to celebrate.

The all-time record for consecutive hours spent below freezing at Raleigh-Durham International Airport is 157 hours.

At 6:30 a.m. Friday, the count ticked past 125 hours with no end in the next 48 hours.

The record was set in 1982 when the temperature at the airport held at or below 32 degrees for 6.54 days without a break. If the temperature continues along its forecasted path, it won't bob above freezing until Sunday afternoon at the earliest.

"We're getting close to it and most likely we will hit it because we're not looking at temperatures above freezing today or tomorrow," said WRAL meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner. "So, we most likely will break the previous record of all-time number of consecutive hours at or below freezing at RDU."

Wind chills on Friday and Saturday will make the already cold temperatures feel even chillier, possibly knocking the air temperature down below zero in some spots.