Cold front, wind chill temps drop into the 20s in parts of central NC

Grab your jacket! There's a chill in the air Thursday -- and another chance of rain this weekend.

Thursday morning began cold, with the wind chill making it feel like the 20s in some places. The afternoon will be cool and dry once temperatures begin to warm up.

"As we go through the day, winds will quiet down, and we'll see highs in the low to mid 50s with a mix of sun and clouds," WRAL meteorologist Anthony Baglione said.

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• Thursday: Partly cloudy, cooler, dry. Highs in the lower-mid 50s.
• Friday: Mostly cloudy and still cool with a small chance for some spotty rain later in the afternoon. Highs in the mid-upper 50s.
• Saturday: Cloudy skies with rain looking likely in the morning and then tapering off for the afternoon. It is milder with highs in the lower-mid 60s.

Thursday will be dry, but more clouds will build in tonight ahead of more rain for Friday and into early Saturday.

"It appears that the first half of Friday will be dry with some light showers possible into the afternoon," Baglione said. "The best rain chances, however, arrive Friday night and should push out to have a mostly dry weekend."

There is a 40% chance for rain Saturday morning. Saturday afternoon and Sunday should be dry.

Highs will warm back up for Saturday and Sunday, in the mid to upper 60s.

7-day forecast for central NC

• Thursday: High of 54. Cloudy and cooler but dry.
• Friday: Cloudy skies and still chilly with some light rain possible late in the day and into the evening. High of 54.
• Saturday: Considerable cloudiness with rain in the morning. High of 66.
• Sunday: Dry, high of 68 degrees.
• Monday: Mostly cloudy skies and mild. High around 70 degrees.
• Tuesday: Partly cloudy and warmer. High around 71 degrees.
• Wednesday: Cloudy skies with some rain possible. It's a little cooler with highs in the lower-mid 60s.

Snow drought: Over 756 days without measurable snow at RDU

It's been a winter of discontent for snow lovers.

We have not seen any measurable snow this season and it's not looking like we'll get any. As of Saturday, Feb. 24, we've been 756 days without measurable snow (Jan. 29, 2022 saw .4 inches). This is the third-longest snow drought on record at RDU.

"At this point, the odds of getting snow are quite low," said WRAL meteorologist Aimee Wilmoth. "We thought we might get at least some snow this year because it's an El Niño year. Our research showed that we typically get measurable snow during El Niño years."

In previous El Niño runs, we would typically see a warmer-than-normal December with cooler January and February months.

Wilmoth said this El Niño run has been warm and is tied for fourth warmest on record and ninth wettest on record at RDU. So the moisture has been in place, but it hasn't lined up with any cold snaps.

The temperature outlook for early March shows North Carolina seeing above normal temperatures. If that holds, it looks like we could be waiting until next winter for snowflakes.

Eclipse coming up in April!

• April 8 is the date of the next total solar eclipse for North America. We won't see a total eclipse in North Carolina, but lots of people will travel to take it in! Ohio will be the closest spot to drive to from Raleigh for the path of totality.