Another Taste of Winter

Hello All! It's time again for another dusting here in the triangle! Fortunately for us, it will be mostly if not all snow for wave one to start the weekend, then snow transitioning to rain early next week. On the tail end of this pocket of precipitation though there is a chance for a wintry glaze to form from a combination of sleet and freezing rain.

Tomorrow the low will be tracking south of NC and will bring moisture with it. The air will be cold enough throughout the atmosphere for the production of crystal dendrites high up in the atmosphere which will form crystal agregates as they fall. It will take a couple hours for the process of sublimation, or ice crystals evaporating into the atmosphere, to saturate the lower atmosphere enough for the snow to fall to the ground.

Snow will begin falling late morning but will likely take a couple hours into the early afternoon for the dusting to be seen on the ground.

Accumulation

WRAL Accumulation Forecast: found at http://www.wral.com/

Not much snow will accumulate on the ground here in the Triangle. This is not because of the temperature, but rather because there will not be as much moisture this far inland with this storm system. We could see around 0.25" or maybe even 0.5" in some places, but I would not count on more than a nice dusting, or a trace, with a glaze on top.

If you want more snow, you can travel to northeast North Carolina. The further north and east of Raleigh you go, the closer to the epicenter of this storm up toward Elizabeth City, North Carolina. There it is possible that 2" or even a bit more could fall.

Concerns / Hazards

As is the case with all winter weather, road conditions will be a toss-up. I do not anticipate that road conditions will be very bad here in the Triangle as the NCDOT has already done a fantastic job spreading the brine solution on main roads. Back roads could get a bit messy in areas of heavier accumulation, but the roads will not be like they were a couple weeks ago.

That being said, IT WOULD STILL BE WISE TO STAY OFF THE ROADS IF YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE OUT. Better to be safe than sorry, and in the case of slick roads anything can happen and even a glaze can strip traction from the best vehicles.

Counties north and east of Raleigh have cancelled school for tomorrow including Bertie, Edgecombe, Halifax, Hertford, Wayne, and Wilson County Schools as well as Nash-Rocky Mount and Roanoke Rapids Schools.

Thus far Wake, Franklin, Nash, Johnston, Harnett, Lee, and Chatham County Schools will still run on normal schedule.

Class Cancellation Forecast

As of right now, classes are still as scheduled on campus However, I presume that once precipitation begins sticking in the early afternoon the University will make a decision on evening classes and activities.

I would imagine that if we start reaching 0.1"-0.2" of accumulation then the University will cancel class. The notification for cancellations will likely come earlier in the day as the storm materializes further and begins making it's mark. I would say that classes in the mid afternoon and evening will be cancelled. Those classes beginning at 3:00 and later will probably cancelled, however that is all dependent on the amount of precipitation that falls and sticks (obviously).

For the private and public schools north and east of Raleigh, I would imagine that there will be an early dismissal tomorrow.

Stay tuned to your local news stations for the most up-to-date information for your areas!!

I hope everyone has a great day! The Wolfpack Women had a hard-fought win against Boston College tonight, and the men have a big game to stay positive on the season this Saturday. Also, Valentine's Day and the Kay Yow Hoops for Hope game are Sunday. It is going to be a busy weekend!