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It's finally going to feel like winter in the Triangle, with temperatures dropping during and shortly after the winter solstice this weekend.


Winter arrives with appropriate chill

I'm meteorologist Chris Michaels in the WRA Els Severe Weather Center. Happy first day of winter. That officially began at 4:20 this morning. The weather getting the memo out there now. Look at that ice skating forecast. Our high temperatures today in the upper 40s, and then as soon as 6 p.m. we're going to notice our temperatures dipping in. To the 30s. We'll be windy at times today as well, so make sure that you're dressed in layers here really for the next few days. Sunday morning, we're going to begin with temperatures ranging between about 19 and 23 degrees. Monday morning's even colder. Tuesday, Christmas Eve, gonna be feeling like it. Temperatures in the 20s first thing. But by Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, that Arctic air is really gonna start to retreat back toward the North Pole. So, uh, really in terms of a white Christmas, you gotta go to the Rockies, the Cascades, you gotta go to, uh, the northern Plains and up toward some lake effect areas like Watertown, New York. The rest of the US is really not gonna see much of any snow, so the rest of us just kind of dreaming of that white Christmas. But you see the jet stream retreating off toward the north. That is really your separation between very cold. Air and cooler or mild air. So by Christmas Day, we're gonna be seasonable. Uh, we'll look at temperatures Christmas morning in the 30s and then highs in the 50s. Christmas Eve is actually trending a little milder than maybe we were looking at a few days ago. High temperature of about 52. Christmas Day will be in the mid-50s, and you can't rule out a stray shower, especially late in the day, Christmas Day into, uh, the, the evening, but aside from that, uh, it is gonna be fairly mild and dry. Now looking Beyond Christmas Day toward the final days of 2024. I can't believe we're saying that, but we're looking at above average temperatures, especially in the Midwest and up toward the Great Lakes. Here at home, we have at least a chance of above average temperatures. Uh, not so much the next three days. We'll be in the 40s for highs. In fact, tomorrow we're gonna have a hard time getting out of the 30s, but then by uh by Christmas and points afterward, we'll see highs in the 50s and nighttime lows, upper 30s and lower 40s.

WRAL WeatherCenter Forecast

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Large police presence outside of a Walmart in Lumberton.

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Harnett County Detention Center

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MAGDEBURG, Germany (AP) â A 9-year-old was among the five people killed in the Christmas market attack in the German city of Magdeburg, an official said Saturday.

A 9-year-old is among 5 killed in the Christmas market attack in Germany

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Zion Gibbs' mother has launched a toy drive to bring joy to children during the holidays. The event not only honors her son's dream of becoming a firefighter but also transforms grief into a legacy of love.


Fayetteville toy drive honors memory of boy killed in drive-by shooting

toy fire trucks

Last year, a group of NC State employees battling breast cancer urged the university to test Poe Hall for environmental hazards. The results showed dangerously high levels of toxic chemicals, prompting the university to close the building, displacing hundreds of workers and students. Over the past six months, WRAL reviewed more than 1,000 pages of testing documents to uncover what they may have been exposed to.

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Inside Poe Hall: Office in Suite 608

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Family watching Christmas movies

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NORAD's Santa tracker was a Cold War morale boost. Now it attracts millions of kids

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As concerns over toxic PCBs rise, some universities across the UNC system are taking new steps to address potential contamination risks.


The evolving approach to PCBs at UNC System schools

Most UNC System schools show no records for PCB testing before NC State closed Poe Hall

Zebulon police arrested Jason Linwood Hedges on Friday, accusing him of shooting and killing 55-year-old Robert Cummings on Thanksgiving Day. Police also arrested Armond Ledbetter, who is charged with accessory after the fact.

Two men arrested in deadly Thanksgiving morning shooting in Zebulon

Police officers arrested Jason Hedges (left), who is charged with the Thanksgiving murder of Robert Cummings. Officers also arrested Armond Ledbetter (right), who is charged with accessory after the fact.

As the school bus driver shortage continues in Durham, the district is looking at solutions including family responsibility zones and express bus stops.

Durham Public Schools approves family responsibility zones as bus driver shortage continues

Durham school bus driver shortage

A 16-year-old was airlifted to the hospital, where the teen remains in critical condition with life-threatening injuries.

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Seven people are in the hospital, including a 16-year-old in critical condition, after a police chase Thursday afternoon in Roxboro. Photo submitted.

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Erin Simanskis bench in WRAL Azalea Gardens

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WRAL's Coats for the Children collects gently used, clean coats, hats and gloves to outfit children each winter. Thousands of families benefit from the annual, major community campaign, a partnership between WRAL and the Salvation Army.

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Coats for the Children

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Exchange Remembering Dawson

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Floor by floor and room by room, WRAL Investigates breaks down all of the toxic chemical testing from NC State's Poe Hall. See exactly where tests were taken and what was found. Learn about the reported cases of cancer in more than 200 people who learned or worked there. This is best experienced on a computer at full size.

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Don't Miss It

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(Video: Samantha Hoffman for WRAL)

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NC Capitol

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