NC Weather: Winter storm alert issued for various counties as snow begins to fall

RALEIGH, NC (WTVD) – A winter storm warning has been issued for several North Carolina counties as snow began to fall in the area overnight.

The warning is out of Granville, Halifax, Person, Vance and Warren counties until 8 a.m., according to the National Weather Service. The NWS predicts that these counties could see up to three or four inches of snow buildup. Many other counties in the area are subject to a winter storm warning.

In Roxboro, one of the units in our last-minute news fleet already had a layer of snow around two-thirty in the morning.

There was also a car stuck on the side of the road in Roxboro.

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On Wednesday, the winter weather warning was issued for the northern half of our observation area from Thursday at midnight until 8 p.m. The advice includes Triangle counties along with areas to the north, bordering I-85 and I-95.

Accumulations now appear to be 3 to 4 inches of snow along the Virginia border and 2 to 3 inches in the Triangle. Areas south of the triangle should see less than an inch.

Most of the build-up should be of herbaceous surfaces, but as it will occur at night, there may be spotted spots in the morning.

“It looks like it will be similar to our event last February, which fell 1 to 3 inches one evening, but didn’t pile up much on the roads,” chief meteorologist Chris Hohmann said. “It should be very wet snow, which will be pretty on the trees, etc. It’s not uncommon for us to go from the 50’s and the sun to snow in less than 12 hours; it should be interesting.”

CLOCK: Emergency Management Director Mike Sprayberry in preparation for possible snowfall Thursday morning

Wednesday night’s rain causes North Carolina Department of Transportation salt and sand trucks to be on hold due to the possibility of them being washed away. Crews are expected to present their service between midnight and 4 p.m.

The NCDOT expects much of the winter rainfall to melt quickly, but the main concern is higher-altitude roads and bridges.

In the Sandhills region there will be less accumulation, from showers to half an inch.

ABC !! Meteorologist Don “Big Weather” Schwenneker said rainfall will leave our region between 5 and 8 a.m. starting in the southwestern part of the observation area. The skies will clear in the middle of the morning and the sun will return. Temperatures will remain well below average in the 1940s and wind chills in the 1930s for most of the day with a rigid wind gust of about 25 mph.

Winter weather in a pandemic | What to expect this year

Normally, our snow events occur when there is already cold air and moisture is moving towards the area.

This is what happened 21 years ago at one of the biggest snow events the Triangle has ever seen.

Here is a review of this snow and what the predictors learned:

Check the latest weather radar

Winter weather in a pandemic | What to expect this year

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