<img class="styles__noscript__2rw2y" src="https://dsx.weather.com//util/image/w/cuq7wvruwaiala4.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0" srcset="https://dsx.weather.com//util/image/w/cuq7wvruwaiala4.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0 400w, https://dsx.weather.com//util/image/w/cuq7wvruwaiala4.jpg?v=ap&w=980&h=551&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0 800w" > Here's what the National Weather Service had to say. (Twitter/NWS Fort Worth) (Twitter/NWS Fort Worth)

As Winter Storm Cara moves into the Plains later this week, there's going to be snow, just not in some areas that are getting in a tizzy on social media.

Residents in Fort Worth, Texas, have been sharing an image that appears to be a very snowy forecast for North Texas this weekend. It shows a single run of a forecast model known as the North American Mesoscale Forecast System, or NAM for short.

The problem? This is just one of many model runs, and there are numerous models out there that help shape our forecasts. But even after the models give meteorologists their data, that's only half of the forecasting process. It then has to be analyzed by the experts, who look at the models and other atmospheric information to develop the forecast you see on-air, online and on your app.

(MORE: Latest Impacts from Winter Storm Cara )

Understandably, the viral sharing of this single model run frustrated the National Weather Service's Fort Worth office, and a Wednesday morning forecast discussion didn't mince words.

"This output is quite simply garbage," the discussion said.

<img class="styles__noscript__2rw2y" src="https://dsx.weather.com//util/image/w/screen-shot-2015-11-25-at-11.03.49-am_0.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0" srcset="https://dsx.weather.com//util/image/w/screen-shot-2015-11-25-at-11.03.49-am_0.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0 400w, https://dsx.weather.com//util/image/w/screen-shot-2015-11-25-at-11.03.49-am_0.jpg?v=ap&w=980&h=551&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0 800w" >

Boom. Roasted.

"In this case, the graphics software we use at The Weather Channel shows no snow in north-central Texas, even when using data from the same exact run of the same NAM model," said weather.com senior meteorologist Nick Wiltgen . "That's because our software accounts for the warm layer NWS mentions, and, therefore, doesn't incorrectly interpret the model's precipitation output as snowfall."

Although it was the Fort Worth area that was hoaxed in this instance, it serves as a good reminder for all to consider the source whenever a forecast is posted on social media, especially during the wintertime. It's a popular pastime for some to post gaudy snow forecasts from a single model run, even though those forecasts are nowhere close to the official outlooks issued by the National Weather Service, The Weather Channel or any other meteorological source.

(MORE: Check the Forecast for Winter Storm Cara )

It's important to follow professionals in the field who will give you the most up-to-date, honest forecast for any approaching storm system, and take whatever else you see with a grain of salt.

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