NC Weather: Sleet, ice expected Saturday morning in parts of central North Carolina

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

A winter weather advisory is in effect until Saturday afternoon for much of central North Carolina.

The advice extends from Wake, Durham, Orange, Chatham, Nash and Edgecombe counties north to Virginia.

Person, Vance and Granville counties were upgraded to a Winter Storm Warning on Friday afternoon, allowing for an additional 0.25 inches of ice. ice, less to the south.

The warnings / advisories now last until Sunday afternoon, although there should be little extra icing after Saturday early afternoon.

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

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

The first round of winter weather was especially felt around the North Carolina-Virginia border. Rain turned into a small amount of ice buildup on raised surfaces – such as tree limbs and railings.

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However, a second round of rain came on Friday evening and temperatures dropped below freezing.

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

Only slight glaze is expected in most of the Triangle, with some bridges or viaducts perhaps developing some ice. Temperatures are only expected to drop to 31 or 32 at RDU, so ice buildup is quite difficult at these temperatures.

If we drop another degree or two, the ice build-up will be greater.

Further north, temperatures will drop to about 29 or 30, and this is the area where up to 0.15-0.20 inches of ice is possible. This amount of ice can lead to a few power outages, and roads may be more of a problem in the morning, Hohmann said. Typically, 25 “is the threshold for more effects from freezing rain.

The freezing rain should end on Saturday afternoon.

We have the potential to absorb an inch and a half of rain from Saturday to Sunday morning. We can also wake up on a Sunday morning to a slippery spot or two, especially north of I-85.

The ABC11 First Alert Weather Team will work around the clock to track any changes in the weather forecast. You can watch those updates in this story, on television, or in our apps on your connected devices.

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