Best time to visit the Triangle?

[CattiBrieDourden]

Hi all...we are looking to take a trip to the Triangle area to see if we would like to move there. We won't be able to go before the end of the year, so we were thinking sometime in January. 2 adults and a 17 month old (well, she will be in January! )

Does it snow there? Would it be too cold for a good visit? Any info you could give would be awesome.

Thanks!
Cat

[beanma]

Where are you now?

Winter is not my fave time of year here (I'm a summer gal), but you never know what the weather will bring. Could be the one snowfall of the year, could be 70 degrees. Seriously. Spring is usually lovely and fall is often nice. Chilly and rainy today, though. Summer has weather you can count on: H-O-T. So I wouldn't say January would be my optimal time for recommending a visit, but really who knows what the weather will be like. Two years ago we went to a birthday party the first or second week in Jan and it was literally 70 degrees and sunny and we played on the trampoline. It could be an ice-storm (had one in 2001 I think that knocked out power for a week).

[CattiBrieDourden]

I'm in Louisiana.

We are really anxious to visit; heck I'd go next week if we could swing it. Weather here is so unpredictable...sounds like what you said about NC, except without the snow!!

Thanks

[beanma]

Yeah, it's probably very similar to La. We even get the occasional hurricane. Snow is a very special treat to be looked forward to, but not to happen every year. Some years we get none. Some years we get a dusting once or twice. Every so often we get a good 4 inches and once in a blue moon (like once in my lifetime) we get over 10 inches. The whole town shuts down if we get any and all the northerners laugh at us as we decimate the grocery stores' supplies of bread and milk and try to cram in all the sledding and snowballs and snowmen we possibly can before it all melts the next day. I'm trying to remember, but I don't think we got any last year or if we did it was really a dusting. It frequently rains and is about 38 degrees here which is just yucky and no fun at all.

Summer, you've probably got a handle on — about 95 degrees and 95% humidity. I would hazard that the main difference between Louisiana and NC weather is that summer starts earlier and lasts longer down there. It lasts until about the end of September here and usually starts in May. Spring is about one or two months — April and sometimes part of May or March. Fall is October and Nov (really pretty this year) and then it starts getting pretty dreary or just cold or rainy + cold. We get some really cold clear days, brilliant blue skies, but butt shivering cold. January and February are the coldest months generally, but it's real up and down. Have I talked about the weather enough?

There are plenty of things to do in the area in January. There are nice outdoor things if the weather cooperates and nice indoor things if it doesn't. C'mon up. I don't think it's our best season. That would probably be spring when the azaleas bloom, but I'm sure you could find some things to do.

[newtonscricket]

I first visited in spring and it bowled me over! Of course I was coming from the north, not quite spring, so arriving in the middle of dogwoods, redbuds and forsythia made a big impression.

I would definitely say our area shows to its best advantage in spring and fall, winter being winter and summer sometimes requiring more a retreat indoors than winter.

Spring seems to start about March 7 (my oldest's birthday, for that reason I always looks around and notice, "Hey! it's Iain's birthday and there are flowers everywhere again!")

Of course you might want to make a decision about moving here when we are not at our best, in which case come in January or July

[Marimami]

I think Spring shows this area like nothing else. There just is no where else that has the amazing blooming trees and it's just so beautiful.

But, our first visit was in mid March one year and we ended up having very cold weather and ice warnings. So, who knows!

Holli

[beanma]

Originally Posted by CattiBrieDourden

I'm in Louisiana.
Weather here is so unpredictable...sounds like what you said about NC, except without the snow!!

This thread got me curious so I went and looked at avg temps for Louisiana and NC and I'd say we're about 5-8 degrees colder than you in the winter. I think our January average temp was something like 48 and yours was about 53. It just goes up and down so much that you never know what it will be next week. Summer's the only season you can count on! Saturday here it was 76 and tomorrow (Tues) it's supposed to be a high of 44, low 23 Wed am. That probably doesn't help, but there you go!

[CattiBrieDourden]

Thanks

Thanks so much for all of your replies.

We've decided to wait until March for our trip. We are still debating on bringing the girl with us...It would definitely shorten our trip if we leave her, but I did want all of us to go...