Winter weather arrives (01-10-2025--Hour1)

[00:00:04] What's going on? Thank you so much for listening to this podcast. It is heard live every day from noon to 3 on WBT Radio in Charlotte. And if you want exclusive content like invitations to events, the weekly live stream, my daily show prep with all the links, become a patron, go to thepetecalendershow.com. Make sure you hit the subscribe button, get every episode for free, right to your smartphone or tablet. And again, thank you so much for your support.

[00:00:28] First off, though, I want to welcome back to the program Reverend David Chadwick. He is the senior pastor at Moments of Hope Church. He is also the host of The David Chadwick Show. You can hear that on Sundays at 8 a.m. right here on WBT. Welcome, David. How are you, sir?

[00:00:45] Hi, Pete. I'm doing well. Thank you. I hope you are, too. Staying warm, I hope.

[00:00:49] Yes. Do you do anything special for these once-in-a-three-year, four-year cycle snow events?

[00:00:57] Build a fire, get with my wife, talk a lot, and spend some time with her, which is really wonderful.

[00:01:03] That's good. That sounds like a plan. The only fire I've got is like the outdoor fire pit, so I think I might not be able to pull that one off.

[00:01:11] Not today, Pete.

[00:01:12] Not today, no. All right, so we have good news. We announced this yesterday, the total count here for the big fundraising effort.

[00:01:24] So I'll let you do the honors here. So I guess we need, I should ask, has it closed down now? Is it officially over, or are donations still being accepted as part of the campaign?

[00:01:36] Well, we've got money still coming in, Pete. And if anybody would still want to, I guess they can still do so.

[00:01:42] Though we have officially said, let's just stop it because, honestly, it's been so successful.

[00:01:48] And, you know, we started December the 1st with a $100,000 matching gift from Moments of Hope Church for the purpose of raising $200,000 to help people in Western North Carolina,

[00:01:59] especially those who are losing their homes and just don't have a place to live.

[00:02:04] And we thought that was a big, hairy, audacious goal.

[00:02:06] And we went about it, and we're excited to help anybody we could.

[00:02:11] And as of now, though, we have been astounded with what has come in.

[00:02:15] We have right now $315,000 plus that has been given to the campaign.

[00:02:23] And, honestly, Pete, again, it's still coming in.

[00:02:25] It's going to be a bit higher than that as well.

[00:02:28] So, honestly, we had a $200,000 goal.

[00:02:30] We are now at $315,000 plus.

[00:02:33] We're overwhelmed.

[00:02:34] We're excited.

[00:02:35] We think this will be something that will really help a lot of people who have been devastated by the hurricane in Western North Carolina.

[00:02:41] So, one of the issues I saw out West with some of, like, the government grant programs and stuff is a lack of capacity in some of the organizations that the money,

[00:02:53] the grant money is kind of flowing through, that there's just so much money and so much need,

[00:02:58] and these organizations don't have the capacity to kind of process everything.

[00:03:03] Is that of any concern to you with the organizations y'all are working with in the West?

[00:03:08] Yeah, we have tried, Pete, to do this more relationally.

[00:03:13] And what we've done is we've got a good number of people who have relationships with people in Western North Carolina.

[00:03:20] And, you know, even though this is a lot of money, it's not going to go real far in regards to the needs.

[00:03:28] So, we have identified the needs.

[00:03:31] We have talked to the people, and we're going to respond more individually and personally to the people's needs that we know there because we built relationships with them.

[00:03:41] We still may work through some organizations like, you know, the Baptist Association and Samaritan's Purse and others like that that are doing some really wonderful work.

[00:03:49] But we have felt like we wanted to reach the people who are off the grid, who aren't normally going to be touched by those particular organizations.

[00:03:57] And we've been able to find a large number of them who just are living day to day, and those are the ones that we're touching and helping.

[00:04:04] Yeah, and, you know, as people are sitting around their fireplaces and watching the snowfall and stuff, there are a lot of people out in the West that are going to be out in those conditions because they don't have permanent shelter.

[00:04:19] Some of them are in, you know, essentially sheds, shacks.

[00:04:23] There have been some new deliveries of shelter, which is good to see.

[00:04:28] But I also just saw that FEMA is now telling some of these hurricane victims that their time is up on the transitional housing assistance.

[00:04:36] And so they're going around telling everybody they got to be out by the end of the day out of like hotel rooms and stuff.

[00:04:41] It's just it's one of the things that when you see the amount of help that the private organizations, nonprofits, churches, how they have been able to get the aid to the people directly.

[00:04:59] It's frustrating, but like from like when you see the need and you see the jam ups and stuff, but it's also pretty it's pretty inspiring.

[00:05:07] And it kind of renews my faith in my fellow human beings like it's through this suffering that we are called to serve.

[00:05:16] Well, you're right, Pete, and it is just an extraordinary problem.

[00:05:20] And what's so strange, weird is that now with the wildfires on the West Coast, it's almost like you move to the next problem that's out there in the world.

[00:05:29] And yet the problem in Western North Carolina has not gone away.

[00:05:33] And my guest this Sunday on my show is Ann Graham Lotz, and she's Billy Graham's daughter.

[00:05:38] And their home, you know, of course, is in Montreat, Black Mountain, et cetera.

[00:05:42] And we talked about this, and she has a 98-year-old friend who lives in that area whose house was completely destroyed by the hurricane and flooding.

[00:05:52] FEMA has come in and offered her $15,000 to buy the land.

[00:05:57] And that's not even going to begin to touch what she needs in order to have a place to live.

[00:06:02] So those kind of people, and you mentioned the ones that FEMA is now kicking out of the hotels, motels where they've been staying.

[00:06:08] Well, where do they go? And the offering that they're giving to the people for land acquisition is absolutely ridiculous.

[00:06:16] And so that's where people like us have just got to step in and relationally care for them and do what we can do.

[00:06:22] The Amish have donated, you know, a good number of tiny homes.

[00:06:26] There are others who are, like the Baptist Association, believes that in the homes that have any kind of remnant whatsoever,

[00:06:34] if they can build a front porch and a back door and restore the kitchen for $15,000, a lot of families can move back into their homes.

[00:06:43] So that's the kind of person-to-person-to-person we've got to do.

[00:06:46] And I think you're right, Pete.

[00:06:47] A lot of us really do care, and we've got to be the church, got to be the people of faith who walk into these places and say,

[00:06:55] we don't need to go through the red tape.

[00:06:57] We have the money now, $315,000-plus.

[00:06:59] We can help restore your life.

[00:07:01] Right.

[00:07:02] I mean, it is one of those things where, you know, people empower these agencies and, you know, public government operations,

[00:07:14] and there's sort of this offloading, I think, that occurs where it's like, okay, well, you know, I'm paying higher taxes.

[00:07:20] I support higher taxes, and so therefore I'm okay with not really doing something myself.

[00:07:27] But that's the thing that makes the community, that's the thing that makes the society what it is.

[00:07:34] It's the individuals that go out.

[00:07:36] I've been saying for years, like, if you want government to do less, if you're a limited government, small government kind of person,

[00:07:42] then the individual people need to do more than we need to do more.

[00:07:46] Because the more we abdicate these things to somebody else or some other entity or agency, they're going to do it.

[00:07:55] They're going to take over, and they're not going to do it as well, I would submit, as the churches do.

[00:08:01] I mean, that's been one of the big stories to me out of Western North Carolina.

[00:08:04] Yeah, I agree, Pete.

[00:08:05] And one of the things that warms my heart, you know, I'm a pastor.

[00:08:09] I've given my life to the local church because I still believe that the local church is the hope of the world,

[00:08:14] where people dealing with people can help them deal with their problems.

[00:08:18] And one of the real heartwarming parts of all of this crisis, and it's just been devastating, though,

[00:08:24] has been the thousands of churches that have come together, regardless of their denominational affiliation,

[00:08:30] and have said, let's break down the walls that have separated us, and let's care for people who are really hurting.

[00:08:36] And that has happened, and that has been really encouraging to my heart.

[00:08:40] Yeah. So thank you for all of your work on this,

[00:08:44] and thank you to all the listeners who have donated the money to help in this effort.

[00:08:49] The website is cityofhopeclt.org if people still want to contribute.

[00:08:53] Is there anything else that you want to add here before we let you go that you think is important or interesting for people to know?

[00:09:00] Yeah. One other thing, Pete, is that this is going to serve as kind of a budget through 2025,

[00:09:05] and it's not going to be given away immediately.

[00:09:07] As we identify needs, we're going to be giving those people who have those needs the money that's necessary to live,

[00:09:13] and it's going to go through 2025.

[00:09:16] May have to start in 2026, starting again,

[00:09:19] but until then we have this amount of money for a budget to help us with the needs that come to our face.

[00:09:24] Yeah. No, that's great.

[00:09:25] And, yeah, this recovery is years, years, not months.

[00:09:31] So thanks again for coming on and for leading the effort.

[00:09:35] I really appreciate it.

[00:09:36] People can catch David's show, the David Chadwick Show.

[00:09:39] It's on Sundays at 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. right here on WBT.

[00:09:43] He's also the senior pastor at Moments of Hope Church.

[00:09:45] Thank you, sir. Appreciate it.

[00:09:46] Thanks, Pete, and thanks for lending your microphone to the number of listeners that you have who have donated.

[00:09:51] And may I say to all of them, thank you so much for participating in this endeavor.

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[00:11:11] There's a couple of things going on, weather-related.

[00:11:14] Have you heard this, that there's some winter weather coming in?

[00:11:18] Have you heard this?

[00:11:19] I'm just looking forward to the ability to say the term,

[00:11:23] wintry mix.

[00:11:24] Wintry mix.

[00:11:28] That's, I'd never heard this term before I came to the Charlotte area.

[00:11:32] And I know there are a lot of people that are not from the Charlotte area that now reside here.

[00:11:38] So, a couple of things.

[00:11:40] First off, if you are from like the Northeast or anywhere that gets a lot of snow, basically,

[00:11:47] you know, like the central northern parts or out west, the Plain states or whatever,

[00:11:51] like anywhere where you're like, we get two feet of snow and it's fine, I can drive in snow.

[00:11:58] Like, if you've said that and you mock the people in the Queen City,

[00:12:04] in the Piedmont region here in North Carolina and South Carolina,

[00:12:08] you're mocking them because they don't know how to drive in the snow.

[00:12:11] Okay, just a heads up on something.

[00:12:13] This ain't snow only.

[00:12:16] Okay?

[00:12:17] It's not just snow.

[00:12:18] That's why the term wintry mix is used.

[00:12:22] Wintry mix is from Satan.

[00:12:25] Okay?

[00:12:27] It is awful.

[00:12:29] It starts off real nice.

[00:12:32] It lulls you with the beauty and, oh, look at how peaceful.

[00:12:37] Look at the beautiful snow-covered hills and such.

[00:12:42] Yes.

[00:12:43] And then the Gulf warm air comes up, pushes back against the weather system,

[00:12:50] and then it heats up a little bit, but not terribly.

[00:12:52] It's still cold, but it warms it up just enough.

[00:12:57] So now the snow turns into, like, the freezing rain and the sleet.

[00:13:04] And then the sun goes down.

[00:13:06] And then it gets just cold enough or even colder,

[00:13:11] and everything freezes.

[00:13:14] And that is not snow.

[00:13:16] You can drive on snow.

[00:13:17] So, again, I am from New York.

[00:13:20] I actually, the very first time I drove a vehicle was in a snow-covered parking lot

[00:13:26] because I turned 17.

[00:13:28] I was able to get my license.

[00:13:30] I had purchased a $500 yellow Honda 1985 Civic.

[00:13:35] I called it the lemon because it was in many ways.

[00:13:38] And worked on skids and that sort of thing.

[00:13:43] But when the wintry mix here and it freezes the roads and stuff,

[00:13:46] that's why they're brining all of the roads.

[00:13:49] You can't drive on that.

[00:13:51] Also, the freezing rain and the sleet and all that,

[00:13:55] it collects on the tree branches.

[00:13:57] It collects on the power lines.

[00:13:58] And you just need about a quarter of an inch, not even really.

[00:14:02] And it creates so much weight on the lines and the branches that they come down.

[00:14:08] And then you have no power in the freezing temperatures.

[00:14:13] So this is why it's so awful.

[00:14:16] Another reason.

[00:14:17] We are not going to buy snow plows to plow every bit of the roads

[00:14:26] because for mostly three years, they will not be utilized.

[00:14:32] Right?

[00:14:33] Try to put that in the city council or county commission budget.

[00:14:37] Right?

[00:14:38] Try to say, hey, we need to spend $20 million to buy a whole mess of snow plows

[00:14:44] and then keep them in the shop for three years

[00:14:49] for the one and a half inch snowfall.

[00:14:54] Oh, and your taxes are going to go up to pay for all that.

[00:14:57] It's not going to happen.

[00:14:59] They're not going, it's not a priority

[00:15:01] for a once in a three year snowstorm cycle.

[00:15:05] Now, if we start getting some more climate changey snowstorms,

[00:15:09] then maybe we get some more plows.

[00:15:10] Okay?

[00:15:11] But until that happens, no.

[00:15:14] We're not going to be doing that.

[00:15:16] So all of these things, just as a heads up.

[00:15:19] Now, if you're from like Florida or you're from like the deep south area

[00:15:24] where you don't ever see snow, for the love of me,

[00:15:27] stay off the roads completely.

[00:15:28] Okay?

[00:15:29] Just do not even try.

[00:15:31] Just know the limitations.

[00:15:33] Okay?

[00:15:34] Don't try.

[00:15:35] Just stay home.

[00:15:36] Please.

[00:15:38] Do yourself a favor.

[00:15:39] Because here's the other thing too.

[00:15:40] You start driving around out there and you're already freaking out

[00:15:43] because it's like precipitation and you don't want to be there.

[00:15:48] Maybe there's some like panic attack action going on.

[00:15:50] So you don't want to be on the roads.

[00:15:52] We don't want you on the roads.

[00:15:53] And then if you get into a car accident,

[00:15:55] then we're going to have to send emergency responders out there

[00:15:59] to go clean it up, you know,

[00:16:01] and go respond to the site.

[00:16:02] So we don't want them driving around either.

[00:16:05] So if you just stay home, chances are they won't have to go clean up your car wreck.

[00:16:12] Also, big shout out, as I always try to do, to the energy crews,

[00:16:17] the Duke Power people and all of the contractors that come in to help restore power.

[00:16:22] Thank you.

[00:16:23] Also, all of the road crews that are out there salting the earth.

[00:16:26] We appreciate you.

[00:16:29] We appreciate the guys that are out there running the, I think, two snowplows for the entire state.

[00:16:33] I'm kidding.

[00:16:34] There's more.

[00:16:34] They have more than two snowplows for the whole state.

[00:16:38] But there's not a lot.

[00:16:39] Not in the Charlotte area.

[00:16:40] Okay.

[00:16:40] But we thank you guys for the work that you're doing.

[00:16:44] All right.

[00:16:44] I hope you had a happy holiday season.

[00:16:47] But tell me if something like this happened at your house.

[00:16:49] Your family and friends are gathered around.

[00:16:51] Maybe y'all are in the living room.

[00:16:53] You're laughing, swapping stories, reminiscing.

[00:16:56] And then somebody says, hey, dad, remember those old VHS tapes?

[00:17:00] Did you ever get them transferred?

[00:17:02] And then the room gets all quiet.

[00:17:03] All eyes are on dad who says, oh, you know, well, I've been meaning to,

[00:17:08] but I just haven't gotten around to it.

[00:17:10] Look, don't let those priceless memories sit in a box for another year.

[00:17:14] All right.

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[00:17:50] I want to welcome to the studio from down the hall at our – are you the landlord here?

[00:17:56] We are the landlord.

[00:17:57] You are the landlord.

[00:17:58] Yeah.

[00:17:58] Well, you know, when the company split, we figured out who owned the building when you guys started paying rent.

[00:18:03] See, and I never knew that.

[00:18:05] Yeah.

[00:18:05] I was like, we're going to find out something real quick.

[00:18:07] Right, right.

[00:18:08] Who owns it?

[00:18:08] It turned out to be TV.

[00:18:10] So I didn't mean to cut you off.

[00:18:10] No, no, that's true.

[00:18:11] Like, it never dawned on me who owned the building.

[00:18:14] But, yeah, so that's Al Conklin.

[00:18:16] He's in studio with us.

[00:18:17] He's from down the hall at WBTV.

[00:18:19] He's the chief meteorologist there.

[00:18:21] By the way, you're in my parking spot.

[00:18:23] I know that's not true because I took the sales rep of the month.

[00:18:27] Because you know they're not here today.

[00:18:29] That's true.

[00:18:30] Gosh, I totally should have.

[00:18:31] I totally should have.

[00:18:34] So let's talk a little bit about the weather.

[00:18:37] I've already given the obligatory chastising of northerners not to think that this is just snow.

[00:18:44] Because it will start off as snow, right?

[00:18:46] As it always does.

[00:18:47] As it does.

[00:18:48] And then it turns into what I call Satan's slushie.

[00:18:51] Right.

[00:18:52] So walk us through what we can expect and kind of the timeline for us here in the Charlotte area.

[00:18:58] Happy to do it.

[00:18:58] You know, it's an honor to be with you, Pete.

[00:19:00] I've always told you in the hallway, you're the sharpest guy on Charlotte radio.

[00:19:04] You know that.

[00:19:04] All right.

[00:19:05] Now you owe me a lunch.

[00:19:06] All right.

[00:19:06] But here's the situation.

[00:19:08] We've already got snow that's falling in the mountains now.

[00:19:11] And a lot of your listeners have probably seen on either television or social media what happened in Atlanta.

[00:19:16] They've got it picked up a couple inches.

[00:19:17] It's all moving west from west to east.

[00:19:20] So it's going to take some time.

[00:19:21] It's already up into the southern foothills now, Polk County.

[00:19:24] So put it on, you know, I-40, U.S. 74.

[00:19:27] It's pushing eastward.

[00:19:28] I'd say within the next couple of hours we're going to see snow overtake Gaston, Cleveland, into Lincoln.

[00:19:35] Give it one to two hours and this is pushing eastward.

[00:19:37] The reason it's not snowing yet is the air is so dry right now.

[00:19:41] So if you look on all these weather apps, they're like, hey, man, it's snowing here.

[00:19:46] It's snowing.

[00:19:47] You know, I see snow.

[00:19:48] What's lapping, it's what we call verga.

[00:19:50] It's evaporating before it reaches the ground.

[00:19:52] The atmosphere is in the process of moistening up and it will.

[00:19:56] So once it reaches the ground, then it's game on.

[00:19:58] I think everybody in the listening area will have snow at the get-go.

[00:20:03] And so I think the travel conditions will go downhill pretty quickly here this afternoon.

[00:20:07] Then, as you say, Satan's slush takes over as we get into the evening hours.

[00:20:11] It's always a mishmash of weather here.

[00:20:12] It's hardly, you know, ever pure snow.

[00:20:15] So in my understanding, and please correct me if I'm wrong, which I probably am,

[00:20:18] because I, unlike you, am not a weather person.

[00:20:21] And so a meteorologist, I have no training whatsoever.

[00:20:25] But I've sat, you know, at a microphone for 20 years during these types of storms.

[00:20:30] And so it always seems like the snow comes first.

[00:20:33] And then, and I believe it is due to warm air that then warms our area just enough where the snow turns into the freezing rain or just rain sometimes.

[00:20:46] And then everything freezes.

[00:20:47] Yeah. So here's the situation.

[00:20:49] Like, you know, I try to explain, you know, to folks that, you know, in Buffalo, it's all snow.

[00:20:54] Right.

[00:20:54] You know why? Because the air is at or below freezing from the clouds all the way to the surface.

[00:21:00] In Tallahassee, it's all rain.

[00:21:01] You know why? Because the air at the surface is totally warm and it's not going to be any colder.

[00:21:06] But here, the way the atmosphere profile works is it's cold enough to snow at the surface.

[00:21:10] I mean, we're only 32 degrees right now. The problem is we have, what, a little bit of warm air that comes in aloft.

[00:21:17] And the way that works is, you know, you think about your house.

[00:21:20] Where does the heat go in your house, right?

[00:21:21] It goes straight up, right?

[00:21:23] Warm air rises. Cold air is more dense.

[00:21:25] It weighs more so it's down near the surface.

[00:21:27] So we can be 28 degrees and get rain here.

[00:21:30] And you go to yourself, how the heck can that be?

[00:21:32] Well, yeah, it's 28 degrees here.

[00:21:35] But at the top of the Bank of America building, it might be 35.

[00:21:38] So what's happening is the atmospheric profile, and this is why my hair is gray and thin, because it's never a slam dunk here.

[00:21:46] Yeah.

[00:21:47] You know, everybody wants to know how much am I going to get at 123 Elm Street?

[00:21:51] You know, well, where's Elm Street?

[00:21:52] Which one? In Salisbury? In Boone?

[00:21:54] The one in Lincolnton?

[00:21:55] Or the one in Pineville, right?

[00:21:56] Yeah.

[00:21:57] Because it all varies here.

[00:21:58] When you're deep into the cold air, meaning the cold air is from the cloud base all the way to the surface in a place like Boone or pretty much anywhere north of I-40, easy forecast.

[00:22:07] It's going to be snow.

[00:22:08] If you're south, it's going to be mostly snow at the start, but then it'll transition to rain because warmer air is coming in.

[00:22:15] As the storm cranks up, warmer air is pushing up from the Gulf of Mexico.

[00:22:20] But it gets bumped up over the cold dome, and it comes in aloft.

[00:22:24] And so the snow's falling through it.

[00:22:27] It hits that warm layer, and it melts.

[00:22:29] And if it refreezes, it's sleet.

[00:22:31] If it refreezes when it hits the surface, it's rain.

[00:22:35] It's freezing rain.

[00:22:35] And what determines that is how thick is that warm layer.

[00:22:39] So we look at the models, and we look at three-dimensionally at the atmosphere because it's a really difficult thing to explain.

[00:22:45] You know?

[00:22:45] Like I said, if the column of air is cold from top to bottom, it's snow.

[00:22:49] If it's not, it's going to be something other than snow.

[00:22:51] It's got to be pretty amazing, though, to be able to do your job now with the kind of technology that exists versus when you first started.

[00:23:00] It's unbelievable.

[00:23:01] I've been doing this for 40 years, and the technology and just the model data and the availability, it's almost like information overload.

[00:23:09] It's almost too much, to be honest with you.

[00:23:11] I worked so much more efficiently when there was only a couple of choices.

[00:23:15] Now, you can find 1,000 things to look at until you're blue in the face, and you go, well, I always say the same thing.

[00:23:22] We've still got to put pen to paper and make a forecast.

[00:23:24] Your mom doesn't care.

[00:23:26] Your listeners or your viewers don't care.

[00:23:28] Just tell me what it's going to do.

[00:23:30] You can look at 1,000 things.

[00:23:31] You can look at five.

[00:23:32] Let's figure it out and tell me what we've got to do here.

[00:23:34] Right, and you're trying to predict the future.

[00:23:36] Unlike me, I just tell people what already happened.

[00:23:38] So that's why I always give a lot of leeway to weather people, and I don't bash them when they get stuff wrong,

[00:23:43] because you're literally trying to predict the future, which is difficult.

[00:23:46] And I remember the first radio gig, you know who our weather guy was down at Rock Hill was Jerry Peterson.

[00:23:51] Jerry Peterson, yeah.

[00:23:52] And he used to come in every morning, and he would leave us his map, and he would draw the weather front systems

[00:23:59] with the little red triangles and all that stuff, and then he would leave it for us so we could do weather reports.

[00:24:06] And I looked at that thing.

[00:24:07] I have no idea what's going on here.

[00:24:08] What am I – yeah, it's like, can you just write out what –

[00:24:10] Just tell me what –

[00:24:11] Right, right.

[00:24:12] Rain, temperature.

[00:24:13] That's all I need to know.

[00:24:14] It really – you know, your point is so well taken.

[00:24:16] It has changed so much, as has so many other aspects of life, right, and, you know, the way that we do things now.

[00:24:22] But – and I'm not saying it's a bad thing.

[00:24:24] It's a good thing.

[00:24:25] It's just that – you know, and I can remember walking in this building, and a three-day forecast was really – that's about the limit, right?

[00:24:33] Now we can really go out 10 days.

[00:24:35] You may not be on five, be 100 percent accurate by any means, but you can definitely spot trends.

[00:24:43] Right.

[00:24:43] This storm that's coming has been on the models for literally two weeks, all the way back to New Year's Day.

[00:24:50] And it was like, okay, let's see now.

[00:24:52] You know, is this thing really going to hold together?

[00:24:53] Okay, here we are.

[00:24:54] Well, and it's important because especially like with hurricanes, which are obviously very difficult to predict, like the path and all of that stuff.

[00:25:01] But the more certainty you have, the greater confidence people have in the forecast, and then the more likely they are to heed the warnings.

[00:25:10] That's right.

[00:25:10] Because a lot of times they're like, oh, they don't know what they're talking about.

[00:25:12] They got it wrong last time or something.

[00:25:14] Yeah, and that really is a big challenge right there, Pete, is that we can – and all kidding aside, and listen, I'm my own worst critic.

[00:25:22] The weather enterprise has gotten a lot better at forecasting weather.

[00:25:25] There's just no question about that.

[00:25:26] It may not – in the court of public opinion, that may not necessarily be well-received, but it is what it is.

[00:25:31] I know the facts, and I know how we're gauged against one another and how we're gauged against the records and what has been kept.

[00:25:39] Having said that, though, the societal differences, how people react to things, that's intangible.

[00:25:46] That's beyond my scope as a scientist.

[00:25:50] I can put my dad hat on.

[00:25:52] I can put my husband hat on, my neighbor hat.

[00:25:55] I can try to put myself in their position, but everybody reacts differently to everything.

[00:25:59] If I tell you that something dramatic, okay, I'll just deal with it.

[00:26:04] Other people, oh, my God, I'm not going to leave my house.

[00:26:06] That's true.

[00:26:06] You never know what's going to – everybody's different.

[00:26:09] So the societal changes and the cultural changes, how people react to things, you just tell them there might be an inch of snow.

[00:26:16] Oh, my God, the whole city's got to shut down.

[00:26:17] Why?

[00:26:18] Well, you and I come from the north.

[00:26:21] We used to drive on snow all the time.

[00:26:22] It's different here, though, and you have to – what do they say?

[00:26:26] When in Rome, you do like the Romans.

[00:26:27] This is the way we operate.

[00:26:28] We don't get snow that often.

[00:26:30] You know what?

[00:26:30] Give each other a break, and we'll get through this together.

[00:26:34] Hopefully nobody is impacted in such a bad way.

[00:26:39] Everybody is going to get snow today and tonight.

[00:26:41] So this three-year streak in Charlotte, not that we're counting, but it's been 1,077 days since we've had measurable snow.

[00:26:48] But not that we're counting.

[00:26:49] It's going to end.

[00:26:51] But unfortunately, it won't be – you mentioned hurricanes.

[00:26:55] 50 miles makes a huge difference here.

[00:26:57] If you're up towards I-40, it's all snow.

[00:26:59] You're in the mountains, all snow.

[00:27:01] You're between I-40 and I-85.

[00:27:03] It's mostly snow but some sleet.

[00:27:05] I-85 and points southward, generally speaking, in those corridors, yeah, it's going to be a little mishmash of everything.

[00:27:10] It'll be snow initially.

[00:27:11] It'll go to sleet this evening, and then it'll become freezing rain overnight.

[00:27:15] And down into South Carolina, unfortunately, it's probably going to be predominantly sleet and freezing rain, maybe upwards of a quarter of an inch.

[00:27:22] That threshold can sometimes bring down trees and power lines, but it shouldn't be a lot of wind with this.

[00:27:28] So, again, wide variety.

[00:27:29] But I think most of Mecklenburg County will pick up one to two inches of snow and sleet, less down towards Ballantyne, more towards Davidson.

[00:27:37] So that's the way it goes.

[00:27:38] So that's what we're kind of looking at.

[00:27:39] And then, as I say, you get into the foothills, it's a different story.

[00:27:42] Yeah.

[00:27:43] Well, if you are off on any of that at all, we shall burn you in effigy on Monday.

[00:27:47] Well, that's nice.

[00:27:48] Oh, I'll take that day off.

[00:27:49] Let me go down the hall and say, I'll take that day off if that's the case.

[00:27:52] All right.

[00:27:52] If you're listening to this show, you know I try to keep up with all sorts of current events.

[00:27:56] And I know you do, too.

[00:27:57] And you've probably heard me say, get your news from multiple sources.

[00:28:01] Why?

[00:28:02] Well, because it's how you detect media bias, which is why I've been so impressed with Ground News.

[00:28:07] It's an app and it's a website and it combines news from around the world in one place so you can compare coverage and verify information.

[00:28:16] You can check it out at check.ground.news slash Pete.

[00:28:21] I put the link in the podcast description, too.

[00:28:23] I started using Ground News a few months ago and more recently chose to work with them as an affiliate because it lets me see clearly how stories get covered and by whom.

[00:28:33] The Blind Spot feature shows you which stories get ignored by the left and the right.

[00:28:37] See for yourself.

[00:28:38] Check.ground.news slash Pete.

[00:28:42] Subscribe through that link and you'll get 15% off any subscription.

[00:28:46] I use the Vantage plan to get unlimited access to every feature.

[00:28:49] Your subscription then not only helps my podcast, but it also supports Ground News as they make the media landscape more transparent.

[00:28:57] Thanks again to Al Conklin.

[00:28:58] He is the chief meteorologist down the hall at WBTV.

[00:29:03] I trust him with all my weather needs.

[00:29:05] You should, too.

[00:29:07] At WBTV.com.

[00:29:08] I've got it actually pulled up here.

[00:29:11] So the forecast precipitation model that they're running at WBTV down the hall.

[00:29:21] What time is it now?

[00:29:23] 12.53.

[00:29:24] So 30% chance of snow starting this hour goes up to 60% in the 1 o'clock hour.

[00:29:36] It'll go to 80% chance in the 3 o'clock hour.

[00:29:40] And then the 4 o'clock hour.

[00:29:47] You're at 100%.

[00:29:48] So 3, 4, 5 o'clock.

[00:29:53] That's going to be where the precipitation is falling.

[00:29:58] And that's going to be the brunt of the snow.

[00:30:00] And then Satan takes over.

[00:30:04] And you got the sleet coming in.

[00:30:07] Looks like starting around 7 or 8 o'clock or so through midnight.

[00:30:13] And then ice from midnight through 3 a.m.

[00:30:18] That is their precipitation forecast.

[00:30:23] Snow totals.

[00:30:24] If you're up in the, as Al was saying, if you're up in the Boone, Morganton area, you're looking all snow 3 to 6 inches.

[00:30:33] Then there's like a band that runs from like Shelby all the way through Statesville.

[00:30:39] That's like 2 to 3 inches of snow.

[00:30:41] 1 to 2 inches of snow through the Charlotte band.

[00:30:44] And then south of Charlotte, like into Lancaster County, out to Wadesboro.

[00:30:48] Ice.

[00:30:50] Ice.

[00:30:51] Quarter inch up to even 1 inch.

[00:30:54] And that's the stuff that wreaks havoc.

[00:30:59] You know, it glazes over all the roads.

[00:31:02] Covers the trees.

[00:31:04] Covers the power lines and all of that.

[00:31:06] So, if you take nothing else away from this program today, it is,

[00:31:11] let's act like we've been here before, people.

[00:31:14] Okay?

[00:31:15] Let's, you know, it's like scoring the touchdown.

[00:31:17] Like, let's act like we've been in the end zone before.

[00:31:20] We have been here before.

[00:31:21] So, let's not all go out and lose our minds.

[00:31:24] Okay?

[00:31:28] This is from Doogie or Dougie CLT on Twitter.

[00:31:34] It's a Pete tweet.

[00:31:35] He says,

[00:31:35] I won't be driving.

[00:31:38] I went out last night and I bought four loaves of bread and five gallons of milk.

[00:31:42] I hope it's enough.

[00:31:44] I'm staying home and I will be safe enjoying my milk sandwiches.

[00:31:48] That's good.

[00:31:49] No, that's good.

[00:31:49] That's smart thinking right there.

[00:31:52] Yeah, if you need, you know, you need, you know, three milk sandwiches stat before you go into withdrawals.

[00:32:00] Like, that's just too big of a risk, you know?

[00:32:02] So, you got to go out and prep for the milk sandwiches first.

[00:32:06] I assume everybody just loves the French toast.

[00:32:10] That's always been my understanding of why the milk and bread is so needed in the run-up to really anything.

[00:32:18] Also, I did confirm this one year.

[00:32:22] I haven't done the confirmation in a while.

[00:32:24] So, but this never gets billing because I guess big bread and big milk have co-opted all of the reporting on this.

[00:32:34] But ramen, ramen noodles, those things are usually wiped out.

[00:32:40] And unless you go look for them, you wouldn't know because it's in like that separate aisle that nobody ever really goes down unless they have to find some really specific niche product, you know?

[00:32:52] But the ramen noodles usually get cleared out, which makes sense because they're, you know, you can eat them dry.

[00:32:59] You can.

[00:32:59] Did you know that?

[00:33:00] You can eat the ramen noodle brick.

[00:33:01] You can eat it just as like a cracker.

[00:33:03] And you could take the little MSG package that comes with it that supposedly is a flavor and you could just sprinkle it on.

[00:33:10] It's true.

[00:33:12] Trust me.

[00:33:13] At one time, I thought about doing a ramen noodle cookbook of all the different recipes I had as a college kid.

[00:33:19] How to, all the many ways to eat ramen noodles.

[00:33:22] All right.

[00:33:22] That'll do it for this episode.

[00:33:24] Thank you so much for listening.

[00:33:25] I could not do the show without your support and the support of the businesses that advertise on the podcast.

[00:33:30] So if you'd like, please support them too and tell them you heard it here.

[00:33:33] You can also become a patron at my Patreon page or go to thepcalendershow.com.

[00:33:39] Again, thank you so much for listening and don't break anything while I'm gone.