Winter weather advisory issued for western North Carolina. Freezing rain forecast
Forecasters issued a winter weather advisory for much of western and central North Carolina ahead of a storm that is expected to bring freezing rain overnight Thursday into Friday morning.
As the temperature drops Thursday night, rain is expected to turn into freezing rain from west to east across the state, according to the National Weather Service. Ice accumulations are expected from the western North Carolina mountains to Greensboro.
The area under the advisory, which includes Charlotte’s northern suburbs, could see up to a tenth of an inch of ice accumulation.
In the mountains, people could start to see freezing rain by 9 p.m. Thursday. The storm should move out of the area by midday Friday, forecasters said.
“Difficult travel conditions are possible. The hazardous conditions could impact the morning commute. Tree branches and power lines will sag, and isolated power outages could result,” the National Weather Service said.
Farther east in the Winston-Salem and Greensboro areas, freezing rain is forecast to show up after midnight, the Weather Service said,
“Precipitation will overspread the Triad early Friday morning, with a brief period of freezing rain possible at the onset. This could lead to hazardous driving conditions during the morning commute before temperatures rise above freezing a few hours later.”
For the Triad, “Impacts are expected to be minor and short-lived, with a thin glaze possible, mainly on elevated surfaces such as trees, power lines and vehicle roof tops,” the National Weather Service said.
This story was originally published December 12, 2019 at 7:29 AM.
