Ice, sleet, freezing rain threat grows for parts of Mecklenburg. Here are details.
Sleet and freezing rain are expected to produce icy roads during the morning commute in some parts of Mecklenburg County on Friday, National Weather Service meteorologists said Thursday.
Davidson, Cornelius and Huntersville could see up to a 10th of an inch of ice from freezing rain, according to a the National Weather Service’s winter weather advisory issued Thursday afternoon.
The advisory begins at 9 p.m. Thursday and remains in effect until noon Friday.
And while the forecast calls for rain in metro Charlotte, the precipitation is not expected to freeze, forecasters said.
Catawba County Schools and several other school systems northwest of Mecklenburg County have announced delays to the start of classes on Friday.
Iredell County falls under the advisory, as well as the entire Interstate 40 corridor in the Charlotte region, foothills and N.C. mountains.
“Difficult travel conditions are possible,” NWS meteorologists said in the advisory. “The hazardous conditions could impact the morning commute. Tree branches and power lines will sag, and isolated power outages could result.”
Up to 0.04 inches of ice could coat roads along Interstate 77 in parts of Davidson, Cornelius and Huntersville and most of Iredell and Rowan counties, according to an NWS map of expected ice accumulations issued at 3:21 p.m. Thursday
The expected accumulation rose from 0.01 inches earlier Thursday.
Rain is expected at Charlotte Douglas International Airport on Friday, with an expected overnight low of 34 degrees, according to the 11 a.m. Thursday NWS forecast. Friday’s high at the airport could reach 41 degrees, forecasters said.
On Thursday morning, Mecklenburg and Cabarrus counties were added to an NWS winter weather advisory statement about the potential wintry mix.
“Precipitation will develop from the southwest tonight and increase in coverage and intensity through daybreak Friday,” according to the statement. “It will be cold enough for some of this precipitation to fall as freezing rain and perhaps a little sleet.”
The highest ice accumulations in the Charlotte region — up to 0.05 inches — are forecast for all of Lincoln County, according to the NWS ice map on Thursday afternoon.
This story was originally published December 11, 2019 at 4:21 PM.