Coldest temperatures of the season and freeze warnings are forecast for parts of NC
Parts of North Carolina are under freeze warnings, while others are expected to feel the coldest weather of the season overnight Sunday and into Monday.
Western North Carolina and parts of the Piedmont — “mainly north and west of a line from Tryon, to Gastonia, to Salisbury” — are under a freeze warning from 1 to 9 a.m. Monday, the National Weather Service says.
“Sub-freezing temperatures as low as 30 degrees expected,” the weather service says.
A “few flurries” or local “snow showers” are possible in the North Carolina mountains along the Tennessee border, forecasters say. But accumulation is not expected.
Parts of central North Carolina — “Person, Granville, Forsyth, Guilford, Alamance, Orange, Durham, Davidson, Randolph and Chatham counties” — are also under a freeze warning from 3 to 8 a.m. Monday, the NWS says. Temperatures are expected to be “around freezing.”
The weather service warns that “freezing conditions” could damage outdoor plumbing and “damage or kill crops or other sensitive vegetation.”
“Take steps now to protect tender plants from the cold,” it says. “To prevent freezing and possible bursting of outdoor water pipes they should be wrapped, drained or allowed to drip slowly. Those that have in-ground sprinkler systems should drain them and cover above-ground pipes to protect them from freezing.”
The National Weather Service’s Raleigh office tweeted Sunday that the “coldest air of the season” is expected in the region overnight as a cold front moves through the area.
“Gusty northwesterly winds behind the cold front will escort the coldest air of the season into the area tonight through Monday night,” the weather service says.
In Eastern North Carolina, “areas of frost” are possible “mainly well inland” early Tuesday morning with milder weather expected later in the week, the NWS’s Wilmington office says.
The NWS’s Newport/Morehead office says frost is possible in the area Monday and Tuesday nights as temperatures drop into the 30s.
“Strong high pressure will lead to below normal temperatures and the chilliest air of the fall season so far,” it says.
