NC climate: freezing rain, expected ice in parts of central North Carolina on Saturday morning

RALEIGH, NC (WTVD) – Thousands in central North Carolina are currently without power as freezing rain moves across the state.

A winter weather warning is in effect until noon on Saturday for much of central North Carolina.

The consultancy extends from Wake, Durham, Orange, Chatham, Nash and Edgecombe counties to northern Virginia.

Pessoa, Vance and Granville counties have been updated to a Winter Storm Warning on Friday afternoon, where an additional 0.25 “of ice is possible. The Winter Weather Warning remains in effect for the Triangle, the northern counties of Orange and Durham can see 0.10 “of ice, less to the south.

Warnings / warnings will now last until Sunday at noon, although there should be little additional coverage after Saturday afternoon.

According to Duke Energy, more than 1,000 customers in Chatham County are experiencing power outages.

The original statement was issued on Friday morning and included chances of ice on Friday and Saturday morning.

The first phase of the winter climate was felt mainly on the border between North Carolina and Virginia. The rain has turned into a small amount of ice accumulation on elevated surfaces – like tree branches and railings.

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However, a second round of rain arrived Friday night and temperatures dropped below freezing.

Freezing rain is likely from the Triangle to the Virginia border.

Only light enamel is expected in most of the Triangle, perhaps with some bridges or viaducts developing some ice. Temperatures are only predicted to drop to 31 or 32 in RDU, so ice buildup is very difficult at those temperatures.

If we drop just another degree or two, the accumulation of ice will be greater.

Further north, temperatures will drop to around 29 or 30, and this is the area where up to 0.15 to 0.20 “of ice is possible. This amount of ice can lead to some power outages and roads can be most worrying in the morning, Hohmann said. Typically, 0.25 “is the limit for more freezing rain effects.

The freezing rain is expected to end on Saturday afternoon.

We have the potential to catch an inch to an inch and a half of rain on Saturday, until Sunday morning. We could also wake up in one or two successful places on Sunday morning, especially north of I-85.

The ABC11 First Alert Weather team will be working around the clock to monitor any changes in the forecast. You can catch these updates in this story, on television or in our apps on your connected devices.

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