Wintry Mix Expected Saturday In Triangle

RALEIGH — The National Weather Service said Saturday is a good day to stay indoors. Forecasters say freezing rain is expected from the Triad to the Triangle on Saturday, followed by light snow.

Meteorologist Mike Moneypenny said the precipitation should start some time in the early to mid-morning Saturday and could last all day. Forecasters expect it to be worse in the Triad, and to turn to rain as the system moves east to the Interstate 95 corridor.

Ice accumulations will be light, ranging from just a glaze up to a 10th of an inch, not enough to cause any tree damage or power outages, the weather service said. The precipitation may mix with a little wet snow before ending Saturday evening.

On Saturday night, there is expected to be occasional rain possibly changing to snow before ending after midnight with light snow accumulations possible, the weather service said. The chance of precipitation Saturday and Saturday night is 80 percent.

The inclement weather has forced Wake County officials to reschedule SATs set for the weekend at Broughton, Enloe and Millbrook high schools. The new date is Feb. 5.

Officials at Smithfield-Selma Senior High and Orange High School in Hillsborough have also canceled Saturday's test. No make-up dates have been announced. Parents are asked to call ahead if your child has a test scheduled at other locations.

On Friday, only the northern central areas of North Carolina saw snow because temperatures remained too warm in the southern regions.

Counties such as Vance, Warren, Granville and Person received a dusting to several inches of snow while areas south of Raleigh generally saw only rain. Any snow in the areas north of the Triangle was likely to not cause many travel problems because most of it melted on roads.

During Friday's weak snowfall, a North Carolina Highway Patrol spokesman said that there were few accidents in the counties near the Virginia border.

Still, the snow in northern Durham and Orange counties prompted school officials to cancel classes Friday there. Several other school systems operated on a two-hour delay.

Friday's weather was mostly rain because temperatures stayed higher in areas further north than expected. Forecasters had predicted the rain-snow line to be just south of Wake County. Instead, higher temperatures pushed that line to just north of Raleigh.