Professional Experience:

Immediately before coming to WRAL, I worked as a meteorologist at WAFF-48 News in Huntsville, AL. While in Huntsville, I covered severe weather, southern winter weather and tropical storms. Before moving to Huntsville, I worked part-time as a weather graphics producer at WRAL – so WRAL already feels like home! I also have on-air experience as a freelance meteorologist at WCTI News in Eastern NC and Carolina Week. While at NC State, I was president of the Broadcast Meteorology Club and interned at WXII News in my hometown. I also interned for a weather data and forecasting company, WeatherBell Analytics, in New York City.

B.S. in Meteorology from North Carolina State University…GO PACK!

Spoiling dogs, yoga, finding great deals on dresses, vegetarian food, skiing, paddle boarding

I live with my yorkie, Jazzy, and bring her almost everywhere I go.

Favorite Books & Movies:

I love Ginger Zee’s new book, “Natural Disaster.” You should definitely check it out!

I am not a fan of movies. I can’t sit still that long! I like TV shows though and I’ve been into Silicon Valley, West World, Real Housewives and the Newsroom lately. Wide variety!

Likes Best About North Carolina:

We get a taste of everything: All 4 seasons, the mountains, lakes and beaches! And my family is here.

Kat Campbell

The cold isn't going anywhere. WRAL meteorologist Kat Campbell shares when we could see snow on Saturday.

MAY. BREES HAS ADDED SEVERAL NEW FLIGHT OPTIONS AT RDU OVER THE PAST YEAR. >> KAT CAMPBELL IS JOINING US NOW AND FORECASTING THE SNOW HAS BEEN ANYTHING BUT A BREEZE THAT'S QUITE INVOLVED. OH, ABSOLUTELY, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE THIS SYSTEM FOR THIS WEEKEND IS NOT LIKE LAST WEEK WHERE WE HAD ALL WEEK TO TRACK ACROSS THE COUNTRY, GATHER DATA ON IT. THIS IS NOT GOING TO DEVELOP UNTIL FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY IN A DEVELOPS OVER THE OCEAN, MAKING IT ESPECIALLY DIFFICULT. BUT WE ARE GETTING BETTER CONFIDENCE THAT WE WILL SEE SNOW THIS WEEKEND AND IT WILL BE MEASURABLE. WE JUST AREN'T CONFIDENT ABOUT HOW MUCH SNOW WE WILL SEE. IT IS GOING TO BE ENOUGH TO IMPACT TRAVEL, THOUGH. SO JUST KEEP THAT IN MIND AS YOU ARE PLANNING AHEAD FOR THE WEEKEND. WE'RE HALFWAY THERE NOW. THINGS ARE QUIET ON SATELLITE AND RADAR. IT'S COLD. THIS KNOW THAT YOU SEE UP TOWARD THE MIDWEST IS NOT THE SYSTEM THAT WE'RE WATCHING FOR THE WEEKEND. THAT ONE IS ALL THE WAY UP HERE IN CANADA. WE GOT LOW PRESSURE IN THE UPPER LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE IN THE JET STREAM IS GOING TO DIVE SOUTH THROUGHOUT THE WEEKEND. AS THAT HAPPENS, WE COULD START TO SEE SOME SNOW FRIDAY NIGHT JUST FROM THE UPPER LEVEL ENERGY RIGHT HERE. >> OVER THE WESTERN PART OF THIS STATE, ESPECIALLY. BUT WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IS IS THAT DIVES TO THE SOUTH. WE SEE A NEW AREA OF LOW PRESSURE DEVELOP AT THE SURFACE LEVEL. THIS IS THE ONE THAT'S GOING TO BRING US THE BULK OF OUR SNOW CHANCES DURING THE DAY ON SATURDAY, YOU'LL HAVE THE UPPER LEVEL ENERGY AROUND TO AID IN THAT AS WELL. BUT IT'S THIS COASTAL LOW THAT WILL FORM MORE OF A NOR'EASTER FOR THE MID-ATLANTIC. AND THAT'S WHY IT'S GOING TO BE A TRICKY FORECAST BECAUSE IT REALLY DOESN'T DEVELOP UNTIL THE SNOW STARTS THIS WEEKEND. SO AT THIS STAGE, ONE OF THE BETTER TOOLS THAT WE HAVE IS THE EUROPEAN MODEL ENSEMBLES. THIS IS AN EXCLUSIVE PRODUCT THAT WE HAVE TO SHOW YOU HERE AT WRAL. IT TAKES 50 ROUNDS OF THE EUROPEAN MODEL CHANGES THE INITIAL CONDITIONS A LITTLE BIT AT THE BEGINNING OF EACH RUN TO ACCOUNT FOR SOME OF THAT UNCERTAINTY AND YOU GET A BETTER PICTURE OF HOW THINGS COULD PLAY OUT ABOUT A 75% CHANCE OF 3 INCHES OF SNOW OR MORE FOR THE WEEKEND. ROCKY MOUNT. YOU'RE UP TO ABOUT AN 85% CHANCE. NOW WE GO TO THE CHANCE OF 6 INCHES OF SNOW OR MORE THAT CHANCE IS LESS THAN 50% FOR MOST OF OUR VIEWING AREA. STILL, IT'S NOT LOW. IT'S 40% HERE IN THE TRIANGLE. SO WE WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THIS AND WE WILL HAVE OUR FIRST CALL MAP FOR HOW MUCH SNOW YOU COULD SEE WHERE YOU LIVE COMING UP TOMORROW HERE ON WRAL. SO CHECK IN FOR THAT UPDATE. TRAVEL IS LIKELY TO BE IMPACTED THIS WEEKEND. KIDS AND ADULTS LIKE MYSELF SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO SOME SLEDDING AND IN BUILDING THIS WEEKEND. THIS NOW LOOKS NICE AND FLUFFY FOR US. POWER OUTAGES, ISOLATED ITS WINDS THAT WILL HAVE TO WATCH OUT FOR FOR POWER OUTAGES. AND THAT THREAT JUST ISN'T AS HIGH BECAUSE WE'RE NOT LOOKING AT A BIG ICE STORM. A LIVE LOOK OUTSIDE TONIGHT. THINGS ARE QUIET. THE ROADS IN PRETTY GOOD SHAPE ON THESE MAIN ROADS HERE. BUT THE BACK ROADS, OF COURSE, MAY STILL HAVE SOME LINGERING ICE. SLEET IS DENSE. SO IT TAKES A WHILE TO MELT TEMPERATURES SITTING AT 37 IN THE TRIANGLE. 39 IN FAYETTEVILLE, BUT WE COULD DROP BACK DOWN INTO THE TEENS AND LOW 20'S TONIGHT. MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE BUNDLED UP ONCE AGAIN. COLD AIR ISN'T GOING ANYWHERE ANYTIME SOON. SATURDAY IS A WRAL WEATHER ALERT DAY AS WE HAVE HIGHER CONFIDENCE IN TRAVEL IMPACTS THAT COULD LAST INTO SUNDAY AS WELL. AND THEN NEXT WEEK, A LITTLE BIT WARMER WITH HIGHS BACK IN THE LOWER 40'S. BUT THAT IS STILL ABOUT 10 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL FOR THIS TIME

Mark Bergin

Weekend snow chances increasing in central NC

Snow chances for Jan. 30 - Feb. 1, 2026. Forecast as of Jan. 28, 2026.

WRAL meteorologist Kat Campbell explains how different types of winter precipitation form with the help of augmented reality.

A winter storm is in the forecast this weekend, and that means it's looking like we'll see some ice. Unfortunately, let's talk about the different types of precipitation we could see fall in order for it to be all snow. It would have to be 32 degrees or less all the way from the cloud down to the ground. Unfortunately that is not likely to be the case in our area. What we will see happen is some freezing rain, and what freezing rain is, is it starts as a snowflake, but then it goes into a layer of. Warm air in the mid levels of the atmosphere, it melts into a normal raindrop and freezing rain when it falls from the sky looks like normal rain. It doesn't actually freeze into ice until it hits the ground or any surface, and this is the most dangerous one because it forms a glaze of ice. Unfortunately it's looking like we'll see quite a bit of freezing rain. We may also see some sleet, so this is why sleet is different again, it starts as a snowflake, but it falls into that layer of warm air. Melts into a raindrop and it's got a slightly thicker layer of cold air at the surface, so it has time to form into a little bitty ice ball, you know when it's sleeting because it makes a distinctive noise, it sounds like little pings as those sleet pellets actually hit surfaces. Sleet can be dangerous in driving as well, but freezing rain is even worse. We could see a mix of all three of these types over the course of the weekend, and we'll keep you up to date with the totals as we get closer.

Joseph Ochoa

How snow, sleet and freezing rain forms

A model of how snow forms

The WRAL Severe Weather Center is tracking a significant winter weather system that could bring ice to the Triangle over the coming weekend.

We have been upgraded from a winter storm watch to a winter storm warning. That means a significant winter storm is on the horizon for most of our viewing area. Some of our viewing area is under a winter weather advisory. I did want to point out Charlotte, Nashville are now under this ice storm warning. The reason why the National Weather Service opted for a winter storm warning as opposed to an ice storm warning is because there could still be some sleet, maybe even some snowflakes in our northern counties. At the beginning of the event, in order for it to be an ice storm warning, freezing rain could be the only type of precipitation that falls. So this just gives them a little bit more flexibility. A winter storm warning is more intense than a winter weather advisory where the impacts won't be quite as great, closer to Cumberland County, Sampson County, and Wayne Counties. Let's take a look here at our precipitation types, sleet and an ice mix in the forecast for the northern part of our viewing area. Freezing rain for the most part south of Raleigh. Sleet could cut down on some of the freezing rain totals. That's something that we're gonna be watching and considering when we update our map this afternoon. We'll have an update to this map coming up on WRAL News starting at 4. It still looks to be in pretty good shape though. I'm not foreseeing any huge adjustments here. Half an inch to up to 1 inch in spots for Wake County points north and west and. Southeast of there it's closer to about 0.5 inch of freezing rain potential and 0.25 of an inch for those counties in the winter weather advisory. It takes just 0.1 inch of freezing rain to cause a glaze on trees, bridges to become slick, windshields to get coated. A 0.25 of an inch of freezing rain looks more like this, and that's when the roads become icy. Tree limbs start breaking, and that can lead to power outages. 0.5 inch of freezing rain though, and that's what's in the forecast in Wake County. Is a major ice storm. Travel becomes impossible and widespread power outages become possible as well. Our winter storm is coming together in the Southwest right now. As we look ahead, it's not likely to arrive here until really Saturday after sunset. That's when we'll start to see some snow and sleet move into our northern counties. That'll pretty quickly transition to all freezing rain for us Saturday night and last into the first half of the day Sunday. Sunday afternoon there's actually a little bit of a lull in the precipitation. You may get a break in the freezing rain, but Sunday night we'll have one final band of freezing rain move through in our eastern counties along the east of I-95. It may just be normal rain by then. This is all out of here by Monday, but then comes the bitter cold temperatures. Monday and Tuesday are WRAL weather alert days due to the dangerous cold that will follow our winter storm. Some areas could wake up to single digits Tuesday morning.

Ryan Bisesi

WRAL Weather Alert Days: Freezing rain, ice storm arrive Saturday evening

Freezing rain forecast, updated 01/24/26

As we get new models for our weekend forecast, WRAL meteorologists explain why it's looking like we'll get wet snow, but not much.

CAMPBELL. AS WE YOU KNOW, SOME POSSIBILITIES OF WINTER WEATHER THIS WEEKEND. YES, AND I WANT TO BE CLEAR WITH PEOPLE WHEN WE SAY WINTER WEATHER, EVERYBODY AUTOMATICALLY. &gt;&gt; PICTURES OF BIG SNOWSTORM, PEOPLE SLEDDING BUILDING SNOWMAN. THAT'S NOT CURRENTLY LOOKING LIKE THE GREATEST POSSIBILITY HERE. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WINTER WEATHER IN GENERAL. THE CHANCE INCREASING FOR THE WEEKEND. WE'RE 5 DAYS OUT NOW. SO THE ARE TRENDING UP. WE KNEW THE PATTERN WAS THERE WITH THE COLD AIR. THE BIG QUESTION MARK WAS WHETHER OR NOT WE HAVE THE MOISTURE AND IT IS LOOKING MORE LIKELY THAT WE'VE GOT THE MOISTURE TO GO ALONG WITH THE COLD AIR. &gt;&gt; TIMING AND PRECIPITATION TYPES ARE GOING TO BE THE NEXT STEPS AND ARE FORECASTING PROCESS. WE'LL START TO PINPOINT THAT TOMORROW. AND THE TIMING OF THIS GENERALLY SPEAKING WOULD BE ON SUNDAY SATURDAY, THE NEXT ARCTIC FRONT GETS HERE SUNDAY IS WHEN WE COULD SEE THAT WE HAVE LOW-PRESSURE BRING IN THE MOISTURE THAT WOULD OVERLAP WITH THE COLD AIR SUNDAY'S CHANCES FOR AN INCH OR MORE OF SNOW. ABOUT 20 TO 30% ACROSS OUR VIEWING AREA. I'VE GOT TO TELL YOU, WE ACTUALLY JUST GOT HIM SOME UPDATED MODEL DATA, A NEW EUROPEAN MODEL, A NEW AMERICAN MODEL, NEW IN-HOUSE MODEL. AND I WENT DID THESE POSITIONS WITH THE NEW DATA AND EACH MODEL HAS MAINTAINED ITS PRETTY MUCH THE EXACT LOCATION AS WHAT WE HAD EARLIER THIS AFTERNOON. SO NO BIG SHIFTS. STILL, THE EUROPEAN MODEL LOOKING MOST LIKELY, BUT THE IN-HOUSE MODEL TRAINING INLAND A BIT COMPARED TO THE YEAR PN THE AMERICAN MODEL KIND OF SPLITTING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE 2, BUT WITH A DIFFERENT JET STREAM SHAPE, FUTURECAST FOR SATURDAY, JUST SHOWING A COUPLE OF SPRINKLES MOVING THROUGH WITH A REALLY COLD FRONT ON THE WAY THAT FRONT WILL STALL OFFSHORE WILL SEE AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE DEVELOP ALONG THE FRONT. THAT COULD BRING SOME OF THAT SNOW OUR WAY SUNDAY AND MAYBE A MIX DEPENDING ON THE EXACT TRACK OF LOW-PRESSURE. SO STAY TUNED FOR UPDATES. OVERALL, THOUGH, THE TREND IS THAT THE MOISTURE IS THERE. SO WE ARE GOING TO KEEP AN EYE ON THE WEEKEND FOR POTENTIAL IMPACTS.

Sydney Ross

New models show slight chance for wet snow on Sunday

Winter weather trends for Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026

Cold rain is likely on Friday for most of central North Carolina.

AND OF COURSE, ON THE WRAL APP AND ON WRAL COM. ALL RIGHT. LET'S MOVE NOW TO THE FORECAST. >> SO YOU'RE SAYING THERE'S A CHANCE. A WINTRY MIX IS POSSIBLE IN OUR AREA THIS FRIDAY, AT LEAST ACCORDING TO ONE MODEL. >> CAT IS LIVE AT POLLEN PARK WHERE THEY'RE KICKING OFF THE HOLIDAY EXPRESS. >> GOT SOME PEOPLE ARE REALLY HOPEFUL. THAT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE ANYONE WILL BE MEETING US LIKE THIS ONE. NO, WE'RE NOT EXPECTING A BIG SNOWSTORM ANYWHERE IN OUR VIEWING AREA AT THIS POINT FOR FRIDAY. BUT I DO HAVE TO LET YOU KNOW, WE ARE LINED UP FOR THE WRAL CAROUSEL HERE AT PULLEN PARK. IT IS OPENING NIGHT. >> AND IT IS SO MUCH FUN OUT HERE. LET'S TAKE A QUICK LOOK AT THE FORECAST, THOUGH, BECAUSE IT IS REALLY COOLING OFF. YOU'LL NEED THE CODE AND YOU'RE GOING TO NEED TO KEEP YOUR CALL ANDY THROUGHOUT THE WEEK. OUR NEXT WEATHER MAKER COMING ON FRIDAY IS GOING TO BE ANOTHER ROUND OF COLD RAIN FOR MOST OF US IN OUR AREA. BUT THERE IS A CHANCE OF A WINTRY MIX AS THE RAIN STARTS. THERE COULD BE SOME SLEET, SOME FREEZING RAIN, EVEN SOME SNOWFLAKES MIXED AND PRIMARILY NORTH OF I-85, I SAID, THOUGH, JUST A SNOWSTORM IS UNLIKELY. WE'RE NOT EXPECTING A WINTER WONDERLAND OUT OF THIS. AND HERE'S THE LATEST CAN DRAW ON WRAL FORECAST MAP FOR THE PRECIPITATION TYPES. IT'S A COLD RAIN FROM WAKE COUNTY POINT SOUTH AND EAST. YOU CAN SEE THAT NARROW LINE AND PAIN WHERE WE COULD SEE THINGS BEGIN AS A WINTRY MIX AND THEN CHANGE OVER TO RAIN. AND IT'S REALLY ONLY IN SOUTHERN VIRGINIA, THE EXTREME NORTHERN PART OF OUR STATE WHERE WE HAVE THE CHANCE TO SEE A PERIOD OF ONLY SNOW OUT OF THE SYSTEM BACK OUT HERE LIVE AT PULLEN PARK. EVERYBODY IS GEARING UP TO GO. THEY ARE GETTING ON THE CAROUSEL. THE WRAL CAROUSEL AND WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT WILL SHOW YOU SOME OF THE OTHER SITES ACROSS POLAND, PART OF THE HOLIDAY EXPRESS. COMING

Chance of snow in central NC later this week: Pullen Park Holiday Express kicks off

Pledge right now to provide warm winter wear to children in the Triangle and eastern NC.

Coats for the Children: Donate today

Michelle Mackonochie - familiar to WRAL viewers after five years as part of the morning news team - will anchor the 4 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. newscasts with Dan Haggerty, and the 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts with Gerald Owens. 

Kat Campbell

Recent Work

Watch · 3:18Weekend snow chances increasing in central NC

Watch · 1:27How snow, sleet and freezing rain forms

Watch · 4:35WRAL Weather Alert Days: Freezing rain, ice storm arrive Saturday evening

Watch · 0:59New models show slight chance for wet snow on Sunday

Watch · 1:48Chance of snow in central NC later this week: Pullen Park Holiday Express kicks off