Weather phenomenon behind smell of gas in Charlotte

Shortly after 11 a.m., Piedmont Natural Gas confirmed the smell wasn't a gas leak, but a leak of the smell additive mercaptan, which is added to natural gas to give it an odor in the event of a leak.

WCNC Chief meteorologist Brad Panovich confirmed the odor was exaggerated by a weather event called an inversion, which is when a layer of warm, dense air traps everything underneath it, including pollution, smoke, fog and odor.