NC Weather: Winter storm warning issued for several counties as snow begins to fall

RALEIGH, North Carolina (WTVD) – A winter storm warning has been issued for several counties in North Carolina as snow has started to fall in the area overnight.

The warning is issued for Granville, Halifax, Person, Vance and Warren counties until 8 a.m., according to the National Weather Service. The NWS predicts that these counties could see up to three to four inches of snow accumulation. Many other counties in the region are subject to a winter storm advisory.

In Roxboro, one of the units in our last-minute fleet already had a layer of snow around 2:30 am.

A car was also stuck on the side of the road in Roxboro.

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On Wednesday, the winter weather advisory was issued for the northern half of our observation area from midnight to 8 a.m. Thursday. The notice includes Triangle counties as well as areas to the north, bordering I-85 and I-95.

Accumulations now appear to be 3-4 inches of snow along the Virginia border and 2-3 inches in the triangle. Areas south of the triangle should see less than an inch.

Most of the build-up should be grassy surfaces, but as this will happen at night, there could be slippery spots in the morning.

“It looks like our event last February which dropped 1-3 inches one evening but didn’t build up much on the roads,” chief meteorologist Chris Hohmann said. “Should be very wet snow, which will look nice on trees etc. It’s not often that you go from the 50s and the sun to snow in under 12 hours; that should be interesting.”

WATCH: Mike Sprayberry, Director of Emergency Management, on preparations for possible snow Thursday morning

Wednesday night’s rain put the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s salt and sand trucks on hold due to the possibility of it washing up. Crews must report for work between midnight and 4 a.m.

NCDOT expects much of the winter precipitation to melt quickly, but the main concern is higher elevation roads and bridges.

The Sandhills area will see less build-up, half an inch snow showers.

ABC!! Meteorologist Don “Big Weather” Schwenneker said the precipitation would move out of our area between 5 and 8 am starting in the southwestern part of the observation area. The sky will clear up by mid-morning with the return of the sun. 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 episodes occur when cold air is already in place and moisture is entering the area.

This is what happened 21 years ago during one of the biggest snow events the Triangle has ever seen.

Here’s a look back at that snow and what forecasters have learned from it:

Discover the latest weather radar

Winter weather in a pandemic | What to expect this year

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