Winter weather pounds southeast NC - WECT TV6-WECT.com:News, weather & sports Wilmington, NC

Posted by Eric Davis - bio |email| facebook

WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) -  The first leg of a very complicated winter storm is now moving into the Coastal Carolinas.  This morning snow will be the big story as the air column is still very cold due to this weekend's Arctic airmass.  Snow totals will likely range from 1 to 2 along the coast to over 5 inches in parts of Bladen county and near I-95.  Winter storm warnings and are now in effect for all of southeast North Carolina. 

As we progress into the late morning and early afternoon snow will change to freezing rain and/or sleet as the air column warms some, especially aloft.  This will lead to accumulation of ice on: roads, sidewalks, and power lines.  Travel will become more and more treacherous as we head through the day.  Power outages maybe possible too depending on how much ice is able to accumulate. Late this afternoon at the coast the freezing rain should change to a cold rain.  The farther inland you go the air column remains colder longer hence we expect higher accumulations of both snow and ice.  By late tonight most precipitation should change to rain over the entire area but travel problems will remain through tomorrow morning. 

Here are some snow totals as of 10:30 AM:  Rocky Point 6.0", Hampstead 6.0", Whiteville 5.0", Lumberton 5.0", Elizabethtown 4.5", Clarkton 3.5", ILM Airport 3.5", Ogden 3.0", Fayetteville 2.0", Jacksonville 2.0"

Stay with the First Alert Weather Team as we will be following the development of this complex storm.  Don't forget you can follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

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