Wintry precipitation was in the Triangle forecast. Where did snow fall?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Meteorologists warned Triangle of wintry precipitation, but most counties saw rain.
- Wake, Chatham, Durham, Orange and Johnston recorded no measurable snow.
- Measurable snow fell in Virginia; RDU Airport saw brief sleet with no accumulation.
Meteorologists this week warned that wintry precipitation, including snow, could fall across the Triangle.
Area public school systems delayed start times on Friday morning, Dec. 5, by hours, The News & Observer previously reported. Some even transitioned to a full day of remote learning.
But residents in Wake, Chatham, Durham, Orange and Johnston counties woke up Friday to no snow on the ground.
Instead, the precipitation falling Friday morning came in the form of cold rain, and temperatures were several degrees above freezing.
In central North Carolina, areas including Roxboro and Vance and Warren counties reported snow, National Weather Service meteorologist Nick Luchetti told The N&O in a phone interview.
“Overall, we haven’t really seen any accumulating snow in the entire central North Carolina county warning area,” Luchetti said.
However, Raleigh Durham International Airport saw sleet for a short period of time overnight Thursday, Dec. 4, as did one of the forecasters at the NWS Raleigh office. However, the sleet wasn’t enough to accumulate on the ground.
Measurable snow did fall across the border in Virginia, Luchetti said. Danville got about 1.5 inches, and the Blacksburg area got about 3-4 inches, he said.
Why didn’t the Triangle get snow?
Even as of Thursday morning, some models were showing the potential for a quick burst of snowflakes in the Triangle, Luchetti said. But each hour, new forecasts started shifting the rain/snow line further north.
“These kind of events are challenging in this area to forecast,” Luchetti said.
By the time the high pressure system from Iowa reached Pennsylvania on Thursday afternoon, it was weak and transitory, the meteorologist said. A high pressure system could have provided dry, cold air into central North Carolina.
“If you don’t have that nice, high pressure just anchored over Pennsylvania or the Mid-Atlantic, it’s going to be hard to get the winter precip in central North Carolina,” Luchetti said.
This story was originally published December 5, 2025 at 10:03 AM.
