This weekend’s winter weather in central North Carolina has the potential to prevent this season from being among the driest on record.
The 2025-26 winter season marks the sixth-driest winter since 1944 and the 37th coldest, according to data from the National Weather Service.
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Even though central North Carolina got sleet and freezing rain last weekend, the entire area is still in a drought this winter season.
“Overall, the trend has been a dry winter,” WRAL meteorologist Aimee Wilmoth said.
As of Wednesday, central North Carolina has received 0.7 inches of snow, 3.16 inches of rain and had four days with flurries.
If central North Carolina gets 5 inches of snow from a storm expected to hit on Jan. 31, it would drop the season’s ranking down and give an “above normal winter precipitation” for the season.
Normally, central North Carolina gets 5-6 inches of snowfall during a typical winter season.
The National Weather Service and the WRAL Weather Team are working to determine how much snow central North Carolina could see this weekend. As of Wednesday afternoon, there was a 98% chance that Raleigh could have 1 inch, and a 76% chance for 3 inches in the city.
However, there is an increasing chance of snow on Saturday.
The average temperature this winter is 41.9 degrees Fahrenheit, which is 1.3 degrees colder than normal.
It’s been colder than WRAL initially forecasted in November 2025 as part of our Winter Weather Outlook.“That’s kind of unexpected for this season,” Wilmoth said of the colder temperatures.
Wilmoth said La Niña’s impact has shifted the mid-latitude jet streams a little bit south. It’s allowed colder air to push into central North Carolina.
“We’ve been on the cold side,” Wilmoth said of this winter in North Carolina. “Storm tracks have been more in our area, and that kind of helps to explain why it has been a little bit different this season.”
