Snowstorm a heading toward RDU this weekend, Dec19/20 (Clayton: stores, food)

[Bmateo]

Originally Posted by capt chill

wow, winter storm watches..... My crazy call on tuesday... Well I say RDU area maybe 1 inch, west of Chapel hill and north 4+ west of Greensboro 6 inches toward boone and Tn Mtns 1 to 2 feet. Cool!

Do you have a crystal ball prediction for Lee County? We are West of RDU, but also South. One model puts us right on the line of nothing/somthing, but Greg Fischel's "predictive model" insinuates that Lee County is in a band that will get 6-8", actually much more than Wake County....

Really just "talking", as I'll wait and see what we get, but I'd be interested in your prediction.

[adlnc07]

Down to 1" of snow.. how soon before we get to 70 and sunny?

[NY2NC96]

I have shopping to finish this weekend and am supposed to have new carpet installed in the house. I dont want anything but flurries .

[carolinadreamin']

Here's an update, with a mention of the dreaded "Freezing Rain" as a possibilty as some of the precip changes over Friday night.

344 am EST Thu Dec 17 2009

...Winter Storm Watch in effect from Friday afternoon through
Saturday evening...

The National Weather Service in Raleigh has issued a Winter Storm
Watch...which is in effect from Friday afternoon through Saturday
evening.

The watch area includes both The Triad and the Triangle areas...
and the cities and towns of Roxboro... Henderson... Sanford...
Carthage... Troy... and Albemarle.

Wintry precipitation is expected to develop over western and
central North Carolina during the day Friday...as a low pressure
approaches from the southwest. The precipitation is expected to
continue Friday night into Saturday.

Over the northwest Piedmont including the Piedmont triad region...
Albemarle and Troy...the precipitation is expected to fall mainly
in the form of snow. The snow may be mixed with sleet Friday night
into early Saturday. Significant accumulations of snow and sleet
are possible. Over the rest of the Piedmont...snow is expected
Friday afternoon...with a changeover to sleet and freezing rain
Friday evening. The precipitation may change to rain late Friday
night into early Saturday. Significant accumulations of snow and
sleet are possible...but may be more limited than areas to the
northwest...especially if the changeover occurs earlier than
expected.

As the storm system is still in the initial stages of
developing...its track remains uncertain. If the low moves
farther to the west...the winter storm impacts would be confined
to the northwest Piedmont. If the storm tracks farther to the
east...the impacts would be felt farther east than currently
indicated.

A Winter Storm Watch means there is a potential for significant
snow...sleet...or ice accumulations that may impact travel.
Continue to monitor the latest forecasts.

[capt chill]

Originally Posted by carolinadreamin'

Here's an update, with a mention of the dreaded "Freezing Rain" as a possibilty as some of the precip changes over Friday night.

344 am EST Thu Dec 17 2009

...Winter Storm Watch in effect from Friday afternoon through
Saturday evening...

The National Weather Service in Raleigh has issued a Winter Storm
Watch...which is in effect from Friday afternoon through Saturday
evening.

The watch area includes both The Triad and the Triangle areas...
and the cities and towns of Roxboro... Henderson... Sanford...
Carthage... Troy... and Albemarle.

Wintry precipitation is expected to develop over western and
central North Carolina during the day Friday...as a low pressure
approaches from the southwest. The precipitation is expected to
continue Friday night into Saturday.

Over the northwest Piedmont including the Piedmont triad region...
Albemarle and Troy...the precipitation is expected to fall mainly
in the form of snow. The snow may be mixed with sleet Friday night
into early Saturday. Significant accumulations of snow and sleet
are possible. Over the rest of the Piedmont...snow is expected
Friday afternoon...with a changeover to sleet and freezing rain
Friday evening. The precipitation may change to rain late Friday
night into early Saturday. Significant accumulations of snow and
sleet are possible...but may be more limited than areas to the
northwest...especially if the changeover occurs earlier than
expected.

As the storm system is still in the initial stages of
developing...its track remains uncertain. If the low moves
farther to the west...the winter storm impacts would be confined
to the northwest Piedmont. If the storm tracks farther to the
east...the impacts would be felt farther east than currently
indicated.

A Winter Storm Watch means there is a potential for significant
snow...sleet...or ice accumulations that may impact travel.
Continue to monitor the latest forecasts.

Freezing rain will not be an issue with this system. If there is a change over from snow it will be a short period of frezing rain and no real issues then a change to all rain and temps in the mid 30s. The cold rain. Looks as though wake county is really the dividing line. The southern end of the county could be all rain the entire time. If you need to go west do it today or tonight. Tomorrow will be a rough trip to Boone/ Banner Elk, asheville, or the VA mtns. Even north toward Richmond could be in the heavy snow.

[carolinadreamin']

Originally Posted by capt chill

Freezing rain will not be an issue with this system. If there is a change over from snow it will be a short period of frezing rain and no real issues then a change to all rain and temps in the mid 30s. The cold rain. Looks as though wake county is really the dividing line. The southern end of the county could be all rain the entire time. If you need to go west do it today or tonight. Tomorrow will be a rough trip to Boone/ Banner Elk, asheville, or the VA mtns. Even north toward Richmond could be in the heavy snow.

According to the latest update there could be a coating of Freezing Rain.

Severe weather watches and warnings
County List
425 PM EST Thu Dec 17 2009

...Winter Weather Advisory in effect from noon Friday to 7 PM EST
Saturday...

The National Weather Service in Raleigh has issued a Winter
Weather Advisory for a wintry mix...which is in effect from noon
Friday to 7 PM EST Saturday. The Winter Storm Watch is no longer
in effect.

Basis...an area of low pressure is expected to develop over the
Gulf of Mexico tonight... then track northeast along the Carolina
coast Friday night through Saturday.

Precipitation types and accumulation...snow and sleet accumulations
of 1 to 2 inches are possible...with an additional coating of ice
from freezing rain also possible. With the storm system still in
the initial stages of development...the track of the low pressure
system remains uncertain. The smallest deviation east or west from
the current forecast track...could result in heavier or lesser
amounts of snow or ice across the advisory area.

Timing and duration...precipitation will begin as snow across
the northwest and central Piedmont...including the Triangle region
Friday afternoon. The precipitation may become mixture of
sleet...freezing rain...or rain Friday night...before ending
as a rain or snow mix Saturday evening.

Impacts...traveling will become treacherous across the advisory area
Friday evening through the day on Saturday...with slick icy spots
likely to develop on elevated surfaces...including bridges and
overpasses. Some scattered power outages are possible due to the
combination of freezing rain and strong winds of 20 to 30 mph.

[NM posts]

Yikes re. the freezing rain - was that how it happened right before that horrible black ice event several years ago? I wasn't here then.

[AutumnOrange3]

Just got a call for my child's school, to make sure kids who carpool, if they have an early release due to weather, if they will carpool with someone else to bring permission to the office in the morning tomorrow. It seems they are trying to prepare in the event school will be closed or let out early.


I get the email updates and will keep an eye on the Wake County Schools website.


I seem to be reading different things, from WRAL, Weather.com and the National Weather Service unless they all mean the same thing just worded different.

[DownEastB]

Originally Posted by NorasMom

Yikes re. the freezing rain - was that how it happened right before that horrible black ice event several years ago? I wasn't here then.

Funny you should ask. There was a discussion about that very event on here not too long ago: Were you in Raleigh for the Ice Storm Back in 2005?

I wasn't in the area in 2005 either, but it was an eye-opener to find out courtesy of the thread above that it wasn't a true "ice storm" at all. It was more like a concatenation of events that weren't terribly bad on their own, but put together they created a serious mess (snow creating slick spots, rush hour traffic, reckless driving).

[NM posts]

Originally Posted by DownEastB

Funny you should ask. There was a discussion about that very event on here not too long ago: Were you in Raleigh for the Ice Storm Back in 2005?

I wasn't in the area in 2005 either, but it was an eye-opener to find out courtesy of the thread above that it wasn't a true "ice storm" at all. It was more like a concatenation of events that weren't terribly bad on their own, but put together they created a serious mess (snow creating slick spots, rush hour traffic, reckless driving).

Yeesh I just skimmed that thread - well, I don't *have* to go anywhere this w/e and I will make my requisite grocery store trip (though I don't like eggs or drink milk!)