Weekend snow? April flakes are rare, but possible

Forecast models show a storm system will push its way across the Southeast on Saturday and will be split in color: states to the north will be coated on the models in blue, indicating snow, and states farther south will be covered by green, predicting rain. Where the line ends up, though, could change who sees wintry precipitation.

"The computer models are kind of all over the place with where that (snow-rain) boundary is going to be," said WRAL meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner. "If it ends up being 30 to 50 miles to the south, it's going to have a huge impact on our weather for Saturday."

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Computer models on Tuesday showed the boundary slicing through the middle of Virginia early Saturday afternoon and drifting southward in the evening. Temperatures at the time could be cold enough to create some flakes.

"Yes, the temperatures may be cold enough to support some wintry precipitation," Gardner said. "Right now, we think that's going to be mainly up into Virginia."

Even if the line does drift far enough south to bring snow to North Carolina, Gardner said you shouldn't haul the sleds out of storage.

"Right now, I would not expect us to have any accumulation, but we'll keep our eye on it," she said.

Early April snow is rare around North Carolina but not unheard of, Gardner said.

Raleigh recorded 1.7 inches of snow on April 1, 1887 and another 3.5 inches on April 4, 1899. But the City of Oaks got a whopping 10 inches of snow on April 3, 1915.

The latest snowfall ever recorded in the capital city was April 18, 1983, when 1.8 inches fell.