Prepare for power outages ahead of winter storm this weekend in the Triangle
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Courtesy of NWS Raleigh
The National Weather Service's Raleigh office is warning central North Carolina residents to gear up for a potential major winter storm this weekend.
Why it matters: Though the forecast remains fluid, the storm could bring dangerous cold weather, a mixture of snow and sleet, and potential power outages throughout the region.
Driving the news: Initial forecasts call for rain to begin in the area on Friday before transitioning to winter precipitation on Saturday and Sunday, possibly starting as snow and then transitioning into freezing rain.
- Total accumulation remains uncertain, but forecasts should become clearer in the coming days.
What they're saying: "If you can stay home, plan to stay home for several days this weekend," Nick Petro, a meteorologist for NWS Raleigh, said in a news briefing, adding that the storm brings the potential for power outages.
- "Check on your family, friends, neighbors, and help our older population, who may be less capable of preparing for such a storm," he added.
Threat level: Petro said this could be one of the biggest winter storms central North Carolina has seen in several years, and that he was "reasonably confident" that this storm could bring more than a couple of inches of snow before turning into sleet.
- The storm is expected to have a "double punch," Petro said, because the wind chill is expected to remain below freezing after the storm moves through. This could create dangerous conditions if power is out for a long period of time.
Zoom in: Jeff Brooks, a spokesperson for Duke Energy, said the utility company plans to closely monitor the forecast for the next 48 hours before determining which areas could see the biggest impact from the storm and deciding where and when to deploy crews.
- Duke Energy has invested in the use of self-healing technology, or systems that detect problems and then fix themselves automatically, in recent years to shorten repair times, but Brooks noted that freezing rain or sleet can create big challenges for repairs.
- It typically takes 6 to 8 inches of snow to bring down tree limbs, Brooks said, while a quarter of an inch of ice will create similar damage.
The bottom line: You know the forecast is looking potentially bad when the local meteorologists head to the store for big bags of ice melt, as Tim Buckley of Greensboro's WFMY did.