NORTH CAROLINA -- A few rumbles of thunder were heard late Wednesday night and early Thursday morning across North Carolina as locally heavy rain moved through the state.  If you believe weather folklore, there's an old saying that thunder in winter means snow will follow in seven to 10 days.

  • Old weather folklore says thunder in the winter means snow in seven to 10 days
  • Thunder was heard in areas of NC late Wednesday night and early Thursday morning
  • According to the State Climate Office, snow followed seven to 10 days after thunder only 13 percent of the time in North Carolina in the last several decades

For snow lovers, unfortunately, the science of meteorology does not match up to that old weather saying.  Thunder in winter does typically mean we are in an active weather pattern like we have seen this week.  If cold air eventually meets up with that active weather pattern, snow could fall. However, most of the time that does not happen in North Carolina.

Several years ago the State Climate Office reviewed weather records dating back to the 1940s for several locations in North Carolina including Asheville, Greensboro, Charlotte, Raleigh, Wilmington, and Hatteras. They found 642 days where lightning or thunder was observed between the first of December and the end of February. In only 85 of those cases did snow follow within 10 days. That's only 13 percent of the time.

Snow is currently not in the seven day outlook, but more rain is. Our current wet weather pattern should last through the upcoming weekend.