Forecast threatens weekend snow
By John Joyce
Published in News on January 4, 2017 3:17 PM
Brining trucks were being put through their paces Wednesday on some of Wayne County's back roads in preparation for a possible weekend storm that could dump a wintry mix and snow on the area.
"We had a few pieces of our equipment hooked up over Christmas," said Luther Thompson, DOT maintenance supervisor for Wayne County. "We are hooking stuff up this morning (Wednesday). You know when you have things set up over the year you are going to have some minor issues with them. So we are trying to work the minor issues out of the equipment.
The National Weather Service in Raleigh early Wednesday morning warned of a potential for wintry precipitation -- mainly snow -- to hit the area beginning Friday night and lasting through Saturday. Although it is too early determine with any certainty an expected amount of snowfall, some accumulation is possible, the NWS said.
"The weathermaker will be a low pressure system that is going to develop down along the Gulf Coast," said Shawna Cokley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Raleigh. "It will move up along the Southeast Coast. The proximity to the coast is one of the factors that determines how much moisture comes over the area."
Forecasters are not looking at highs to get much above freezing Saturday or Sunday, Ms. Cokley said.
Although not set in stone, the current forecast calls for a 50 percent chance of snow Friday night into early Saturday with a possible accumulation of 1 to 2 inches.
Thompson said NCDOT is already getting ahead of the storm in areas across the region, including parts of Wayne County.
"We are brining some of the back roads just today," Thompson said. "Tomorrow (Thursday) we are going to focus on the primary roads and try to finish up before Friday afternoon."
Those primary roads include the four-lane highways and primary two-lane roads, he said.
"We are just doing it for precaution," Thompson said. "It may come in as some rain before it switches over. So it is one of those 50-50 things. You know where Wayne County is -- it is always on the border line. That is why I kept watching the weather this morning."
If necessary, the crews could spread salt, Thompson said.
"We have the brine tank and the (salt) spread set up," he said. "We have both out there. If turns out to be pure ice, freezing rain or something like that we will use salt on the bridges and overpasses."
Thompson said he would not make the call until late this afternoon about keeping a crew on standby Friday night into Saturday morning.
"If the weather doesn't change, and it is still calling (for snow) after midnight then once we are finished Friday afternoon I probably will have a crew come in some time after 12 (midnight) for just about an hour or two whatever the target time it is supposed to start around here," he said.
Editors note -- This is a developing story. Continue to check back for updates regarding changing forecast models for wintry weather threatening the area.