We’ve been lucky that the surface layer of cold air held strong enough overnight to limit freezing rain accruals in favor of sleet and snow. The inch or so of sleet/snow has provided a great base for sledding that will take quite some time to melt.
And while we’ve only seen a light glaze in Wake County so far, any meaningful freezing rain that we have left should begin now. This band looks to be the heaviest precipitation we’ve seen so far. The expectation is for it to be freezing rain and sleet, with the potential for a pocket or two of heavy sleet at times. In fact, we could luck out and end up with mostly sleet.
Temps are still holding in the low 20s, so the potential for another >1/4″ of ice is now trending down. Especially with heavier precipitation rates, the rain won’t have as much of a chance to freeze on trees and power lines as efficiently as it would with lighter rates over a longer timeframe. To be clear, any rain will still freeze wherever it ends up on the ground, but that’s a much better scenario than it freezing on elevated surfaces that could collapse under the weight of the ice.
For now, there’s still hope that this cold surface layer continues to overperform and that this last round ends up being mostly sleet, to the tune of 1/2″+.
As advertised, it’s going to be very cold this week. Melting will be a slow go, with some thawing in the sun and refreezing each morning. Black ice will be a headache during the early hours. And we still have the potential for a couple of snow showers later in the week. There are also hints of other storm systems rolling through from the weekend into the following week, but at this point it’s just musings.
Stay safe, enjoy a winter vacation day or two and enjoy another round!
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