Northern counties could see icy glaze, but central areas to stay above freezing

Any wintry weather in North Carolina would be "a low-impact event," meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner said, although areas in Virginia could see snow.

Posted 1:36 p.m. Feb 17, 2019 — Updated 12:51 p.m. Feb 20, 2019

Elizabeth Gardner

and

Mike Maze, WRAL meteorologists

RALEIGH, N.C. — Areas near the North Carolina-Virginia border could see glazed power lines and slick bridges Wednesday morning as light precipitation fell, meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner said.

Temperatures in Roxboro were around 32 degrees.

Ice on power lines wasn't expected to cause outages, Gardner said.

A winter weather advisory was in effect until noon in northern counties, including Alamance, Durham, Granville, Orange, Person, Vance and Warren. Those areas could see less than one-tenth of an inch of ice.

Multiple North Carolina school systems, including Durham Public Schools, announced delays for Wednesday morning in anticipation of the possibility of slick roads.

Closings & Delays

Any wintry weather in North Carolina would be "a low-impact event," Gardner said, although areas in Virginia could see snow.

While sleet fell Tuesday evening in the Triangle, Gardner said none seemed to linger on roads Wednesday morning. There were no reports of slick bridges early Wednesday morning, she said.

A high-pressure system in Ohio and Virginia was pushing cold air into North Carolina. Temperatures in the Triangle were in the mid-30s and would get to about 39 degrees.

Rain was expected to pick up between 8 and 9 a.m. and continue throughout the day.

“It is going to be a cold, miserable rain today,” Gardner said.

But it will be too warm by that time to be freezing rain or a wintry mix, she said.

The sleet and rain Tuesday night led to at least two crashes in Raleigh and Durham. No serious injuries were reported.

North Carolina Department of Transportation crews were on standby Wednesday morning to further treat roads that could become slick.

Triangle traffic cams

On Tuesday night, they prepared focused on overpasses and bridges that tend to freeze first with a brine solution.

"I used to live in Chicago, you know, the winter ice does freak me out here though, so I probably will be going into work at noon tomorrow. Don't tell my boss," resident Ashley Hirt said.

The DOT had prepared with 25,000 gallons of brine in the area in and around Durham and Orange counties.

While most people were already counting down the days until spring, others are enjoying the winter weather.

"Hopefully it snows. If we can get snow like we did in December, I would be happy," resident Chris Walker said.

It will feel plenty chilly over the next couple of days. Wednesday's forecast high temperature is 40 in Raleigh and 36 in Roxboro.

Temperatures warm up significantly by Thursday, which will have a high in the mid to upper 60s, but a high-pressure system off the coast will continue to provide the moisture for cloudy skies and a chance for showers, Maze said.

Overall, the region can expect to see 3 to 4 inches accumulate through the end of the week.

Getting closer to the weekend, temperatures will be milder, in the 50s and 60s, but that daily chance for showers sticks around until at least Sunday. The next chance for a truly sunny day comes next Monday.

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