The warning is out for Granville, Halifax, Person, Vance and Warren counties until 8 a.m., according to the National Weather Service. The NWS is forecasting these counties could see up to three to four inches of snow accumulation. Many other counties in the area are under a Winter Storm Advisory.
In Roxboro, one of the units in our breaking news fleet already had a coating of snow around 2:30 a.m.
A car was stuck on the side of the road in Roxboro as well.
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On Wednesday, the Winter Weather Advisory was issued for the northern half of our viewing area from midnight through 8 a.m. on Thursday. The advisory includes the Triangle counties along with areas north, bordering I-85 and I-95.
The Winter Weather Advisory continues through 8am. Snow will move out this morning leaving behind a cold and windy day with windchills in the 30s most of the day. #ncwx pic.twitter.com/fPSSgn9HWT
โ ๐ฟ๐ค๐ฃ ๐๐๐๐ฌ๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐ง (@BigweatherABC11) January 28, 2021
Accumulations now look to be 3 to 4 inches of snow along the Virginia border and 2 to 3 inches in the Triangle. Areas south of the Triangle should see less than an inch.
Most of the accumulation should be grassy surfaces, but since this will be occurring at night, there could be slick spots in the morning.
“This looks to be similar to our event last February which dropped 1 to 3 inches one evening, but did not accumulate on the roads much,” Chief Meteorologist Chris Hohmann said. “Should be a very wet snow, which will be pretty on the trees, etc. It’s not often we go from the 50s and sunshine to snow in less than 12 hours; should be interesting.”
WATCH: Director of Emergency Management Mike Sprayberry on preps for possible snow Thursday morning
Wednesday night’s rain has the North Carolinas Department of Transportation’s salt and sand trucks on standby due to the possibility that it would wash away. Crews are expected to report for duty between midnight and 4 a.m.
The NCDOT expects much of the winter precipitation to melt quickly, but the main concern is higher-elevation roads and bridges
The Sandhills region will see less accumulation, from flurries to a half-inch.
ABC!! Meteorologist Don “Big Weather” Schwenneker said precipitation will move out of our region between 5 to 8 a.m. beginning in the southwest part of the viewing area. Skies will clear out mid-morning with the sun returning. Temperatures will stay well below average in the 40s and wind chills will be in the 30s for most of the day with a stiff wind gust around 25 MPH.
Winter weather in a pandemic | What to expect this year
Typically, our snow events happen when cold air is already in place, and moisture moves into the area.
That’s what happened 21 years ago in one of the biggest snow events the Triangle has ever seen.
Here’s a look back at that snow and what forecasters learned from it:
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Winter weather in a pandemic | What to expect this year
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