— UPDATE 8:00 P.M. WEDNESDAY, JAN 17, 2018 (Final Update for this Thread)
Winter Storm Warning extended to 1 a.m. Travel not recommended. Areas to south and west of Henderson experiencing numerous power outages due to heavy wet snow on limbs and lines. Preliminary snowfall amounts so far about 6 inches in and near Henderson. Additional accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible. Bitter cold will be extremely dangerous for animals and people.
— UPDATE 11:30 A.M. WEDNESDAY, JAN. 17
From Director for Emergency Operations in Henderson and Vance County, Brian Short:
“Attached (in the link above) is the latest from the NWS regarding our current winter weather event. As you can see, they have once again increased our forecast snowfall totals to 6 to 8 inches. Other than that nothing has really changed.
“At this time we are continuing to monitor the storm with an overstaffed 911 center and are prepared to implement additional emergency protective measures if it should become necessary.”
— UPDATE 7 A.M. WEDNESDAY, JAN. 17
A Winter Storm Warning remains in effect until 9 p.m.
Changes overnight include a slower arrival time of snow and higher accumulations.
The Director for Emergency Operations in Henderson and Vance County, Brian Short, emailed to local media and emergency preparedness teams, and he said, “Please see the attached (link above) from the NWS regarding today’s weather. Our forecast has changed again. We are now forecast to receive between 5 and 6 inches of snow with locally higher amounts possible. Currently light rain is falling but this is expected to change over to all snow this morning. It is also now expected to snow all day and finally taper off tonight.”
The NWS briefing says, “Once the snow develops, the onset of more intense snowfall rates will be rapid. Occasional but brief bursts of heavier snow may occur, resulting in road conditions quickly deteriorating. That is, road conditions could go from being fine one minute, to treacherous the next minute, when and where these heavy snow bursts occur.”
— UPDATE 3 P.M. TUESDAY, JAN. 16
The National Weather Service in Raleigh has issued a Winter Storm Warning for all of central North Carolina late tonight through Wednesday, including the counties of Vance, Granville, Warren, Franklin and additional counties to the east and south.
The Winter Storm Warning is in effect from 4 a.m. Wednesday until 9 p.m. Wednesday.
The urgent winter weather message from the NWS says:
- WHAT…Moderate to heavy snow expected. Plan on difficult travel conditions, possibly as early as the morning commute. Total snow accumulations of 2 to 4 inches are expected, with locally higher amounts up to 5 inches possible.
- WHERE…The eastern Piedmont, the Sandhills and most of the coastal plain of central North Carolina.
- WHEN…From 4 AM to 9 PM EST Wednesday.
- ADDITIONAL DETAILS…Be prepared for significant reductions in visibility at times, especially between 8 AM and 1 PM.
Additional information will be published here and on WIZS 1450 AM as it is received.
— UPDATE NOON TUESDAY, JAN. 16
The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory from 11 p.m. Tuesday until 7 p.m. Wednesday for snow.
Slippery roads are expected with forecasters indicating 1 to 3 inches of accumulations across all the WIZS listening area of Vance, Granville, Warren and Franklin Counties.
After the precipitation ends, any snow or slush will freeze on roads, bridges and overpasses Wednesday night as the temperature for this area is forecast to be 15 overnight Wednesday into Thursday. Wind chill values are expected to be around 6 or 7 degrees. People and animals will be in danger.
Henderson and Vance County Director of Emergency Operations, Brian Short, wrote in an email to local media and emergency preparedness teams, and he said, “As you can see (in the update link above), our snowfall totals have increased slightly with 3 inches of snow being possible. We are not expecting this evening to be a major impact, but we do expect it to cause some travel issues during the day on Wednesday.”
Additional information will be published here and on WIZS 1450 AM as it is received.
— UPDATE NOON MONDAY, JAN. 15
The Director for Emergency Operations in Henderson and Vance County, Brian Short, emailed to local media and emergency preparedness teams, and he said:
“Attached (above) is the most recent single page brief issued by the NWS regarding the potential for snow in our area tomorrow night through Wednesday.
“We have been watching this system very closely for the past few days and at this point there is a fair degree of certainty that we will receive some accumulating snow, however the models depict the amounts at anywhere from a dusting to a few inches with 3 inches being the most that I have seen. In short, this is not expected to be a debilitating event in any way.
“With that said, travel conditions may be hazardous on Wednesday, but other than that we do not anticipate any real problems.
“We will continue to monitor it closely and will forward along additional information as it is received.”