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Over 60 Degrees on Saturday? Record High on Sunday? Both Possible as We Enter a New Winter Warm Snap

By Paul T. Choate

Photo by Jim Morton
Photo by Jim Morton

Jan. 9, 2013. The seemingly wild weather continues here in the High Country as meteorologists are calling for temperatures to shoot into the mid-60s this weekend.

In addition to that, the snowfall the past couple of years has left area snow-lovers pretty disappointed. While Boone averages over 40 inches of snow annually, only 13.7 inches fell in 2011-2012 and only 7.7 inches have fallen in 2012-2013 — five inches of which can be attributed to Superstorm Sandy back in October. 

Most major weather outlets are forecasting a high of anywhere from 61 to 65 on both Saturday and Sunday. AccuWeather is forecasting a high of 65 degrees in Boone on Saturday. For Sunday, the highest forecasted temperature comes from local weather outlet Ray’s Weather Center, calling for a high of 65.

Looking at weather forecasts from The Weather Channel, Intellicast, AccuWeather, Weather Underground, NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and Ray’s Weather, only Weather Underground is saying it won’t get past 61 on either day.

When averaging all the forecast numbers together from those outlets, an average of 63 is projected for both Saturday and Sunday.

While this may feel like record highs though, temperatures may not quite reach the all-time record for Jan. 12. According to data from the Southeast Regional Climate Center (SERCC) in Chapel Hill dating back to 1929, the record high for Jan. 12 was 66 degrees in 1937. If the forecasts are correct, it will be close.

The record for Jan. 13 may be broken though. SERCC data shows a record high for that date of 63 degrees, also in 1937. With all the weather outlets listed above in this story except for Weather Underground and NOAA projecting a higher temperature than that Sunday, we may very well have a new record set in 2013 for that date.

Don’t let the wild weather completely fool you though. The world isn’t spinning off its axis or falling into a black hole. According to Ray’s Weather’s archives, the historical average temperature for January in Boone is right at 33 degrees. So far, through Jan. 9 of this year, we’re averaging 35 degrees.

Additionally, sporadic warm weather in January is not all that terribly uncommon for the High Country. As recently as last year, the thermometers hit 63.1 degrees on New Year’s Day and back in 2009 the mercury climbed to 64 degrees on Jan. 4.

Enjoy the warm snap while it lasts though. By Wednesday of next week, we may not break 50 degrees in the High Country and by next Friday the high is forecast to be 33 degrees.

You just never know what’s going to happen next here in Northwestern North Carolina.

To stay on top of the weather in our area, visit raysweather.com