Up to 6 inches of snow expected
By Steve Herring
Published in News on January 5, 2017 9:57 AM
The first winter storm of the season could leave Wayne County buried under four to six inches of sleet and snow this weekend.
However, as of this morning, some degree of uncertainty remains about the developing system. The accumulation could be much less, possibly as little as two inches or less, if the temperatures remain warmer longer. That would result in more rain and less snow, according to the National Weather Service in Raleigh.
Brining trucks were being put through their paces Wednesday on some of Wayne County's back roads in preparation for the weekend storm that is expected to start as rain Friday afternoon before changing over to sleet and then snow.
The current forecast calls for a 70 percent chance of precipitation beginning around 4 p.m. Friday and continuing through possibly as late as 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday.
It will be bitterly cold as well with a Friday night low around 28 and north winds of 8 to 13 mph. Temperatures Saturday, Sunday and Monday will remain around freezing.
Those temperatures and moisture on the road will set the stage for dangerous driving conditions and the threat of black ice.
"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.
Shawna Cokley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office 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.
The system that will provide the energy for the storm was just making landfall on the West Coast on Wednesday, she said.
"The weathermaker will be a low pressure system that is going to develop down along the Gulf Coast," Ms. Cokley said. "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."
Either way, it is going to be cold, she added.
"So we are not looking at highs to get much above freezing Saturday or Sunday," Ms. Cokley said.
The current forecast calls for a 70 percent chance of a wintery mix Friday night turning into snow early Saturday with a possible accumulation of four to six inches.
There is a possibility of sleet mixing in as well, she said.
Those numbers will be tweaked as a clearer forecast develops into Friday, she said.
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.
"One (forecast) said if the low comes to the coast we would get rain. If it goes farther out it would be snow. It is one of those 50-50. You had rather be safe than sorry."
The brining could be offset if the storm comes in as a steady rain before switching over, Thompson said.
"But that is the chance you have got to take," he said. "You never know. Sometimes it comes in as rain for just a few minutes, 30 minutes or snow and switch over to snow. You don't ever know."
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.
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See also - Winter storm update