I don’t think the weather outside is really that bad. Who decides when things should be closed?

Each school, church, business or other establishment has their own guidelines for deciding whether or not to remain open during severe weather or when storms are in the forecast. As long as they have a proper snow code, WFMY News 2 merely reports the closing information. Our station’s goal is to provide closing information to the public. If you have a particular comment concerning why a place decided to close, you will have to direct it to that establishment.

I watch WFMY News 2 for weather information. Your meteorologist said we should expect heavy snowfall and I decided to call in a closing. It turns out the weather was fine. Why is winter weather so difficult to forecast in this part of the country?

Winter storms result from a variety of weather patterns. North Carolina sits at 35 degrees north latitude and is the battleground between cold air from the north and warm moist air from the south. The timing of the cold air collisions with moisture streaming in from the gulf of Mexico and Atlantic ocean makes a world of difference, many times dictating the type of precipitation you see falling.

Geography also plays a large role in our weather with the highest Appalachian Mountains to the west and the warm waters of the gulf stream just off the coast. The mountains act to pile up cold air over the western half of the state while the gulf streams help to provide some moisture and lots of energy to winter storms, especially in the form of Nor’easters.

As if the unique geography of the region wasn’t enough, something called the rain/snow line usually falls right over the Piedmont. The rain/snow line is the point where the precipitation will be changing or is changing from liquid form to frozen form. With that line 50 miles to the east or west will change what the Piedmont sees. That can present some pretty unique challenges in forecasting winter weather in this part of the country.

My child’s school was closed because of bad weather. How can I find out if there are going to be changes to the school calendar?

Check with your child’s school for calendar information. All local school districts have websites and usually post calendar information online as well. Try doing a search, using an internet search engine like Google or Yahoo to find the website for your district.