Good Wednesday morning, we continue to monitor the latest on the next storm system to impact the region. Unfortunately the trends continue to show that a significant ice event will occur across Western and Northern North Carolina.
Strong high pressure over the Great Lakes Region and pushing cold, arctic air into the Carolinas this morning from the north and northeast. Meanwhile organizing low pressure along the Gulf Coast will move east-northeast toward Central Georgia by Thursday morning.
Deep moisture will overrun the airmass in place starting late tonight. That will rapidly cool the surface to near or just below the freezing mark by daybreak Thursday. Unlike previous cold air damming episodes this winter, the region will be supplied with a near constant push of cold air that could offset natural latent heat release. The end result is a potentially damaging ice event for some areas with accumulating ice for nearly all locations in the coverage area.
Here are some additional key message about this winter storm…
We have updated the ice forecast from yesterday to accomidate the trend for more cold air. Ice amounts have increased and the potential of some freezing rain now extends to the NC/SC Border…
The amounts of freezing rain in the forecast also presents a significant threat to tree damage and potential loss of electricity. Below is the latest thinking on power outages through Thursday…
With confidence increasing of a significant winter weather event for parts of the region, we are raising the Winter Storm Index to Level 3…
Be Weather Aware of the next 24-48 hours across the Western Carolinas as disruptive winter weather may impact your location. Stay with Foothills Action Network for updates here at our website and on social media.