Only a few inches of snow are predicted to fall on the Triangle. Why is it a big deal?
Triangle residents who have lived through severe snowstorms and winters may be puzzled by the response to the weather expected to fall on North Carolina this weekend.
According to a Friday, Jan. 10 forecast, parts of central North Carolina could get up to 4 inches of snow and sleet, and up to a quarter inch of ice accumulations, The News & Observer reported. That’s a far cry from what our friends in the Belleville, Illinois, area are dealing with; snow and sleet totals reached up to 7 inches Jan. 4-5, and more snow is expected Jan. 10, according to The Belleville News-Democrat.
Measurable snowfall was last recorded in Raleigh in 2022, so new-ish Wake County residents (and there are a lot of them) may not understand why we’re making such a fuss about this, with a statewide state of emergency, school and event cancellations and adjusted trash pickup schedules and business hours. An average of about 84,000 people move to Wake County each year from another North Carolina county, another state or another country, according to U.S. Census data from 2019-2023.
Here’s why North Carolina is taking so many precautions in response to the winter weather.
It’s not just snow
Some people, particularly those who have lived in places where a blanket of snow over cities and towns is business as usual each winter, may be comfortable driving in the snow.
But snow isn’t the only element predicted to affect the Triangle this weekend. Meteorologists are also warning that parts of central North Carolina could see sleet and freezing rain, too.
In addition to causing power outages, these weather events can pose problems for drivers — even though cities including Raleigh take precautions by spreading salt and brine on roadways.
According to the Federal Highway Administration, snow and ice reduce pavement friction and vehicle maneuverability, and heavy snow and sleet can reduce visibility.
The National Weather Service Forecast Office in Raleigh encourages residents not to focus so much on snow and ice totals, but instead to monitor hazards. Cold ground temperatures mean that snow and ice is likely to stick and freeze right away, allowing for quick accumulation.
Black ice, which is transparent and hard to detect, poses a threat for drivers. According to the U.S. Forest Service, it tends to form on shaded sections of roads, such as tree-lined routes or tunnels, roads with less traffic, bridges and overpasses, and the roads beneath them.
Triangle area drivers should be mindful of black ice Sunday and Monday morning, NWS says.
“The thawing and refreezing of precipitation leads to ice, so that everyone needs to be careful on our roads,” Gov. Josh Stein said during a Jan. 10 briefing. “Please avoid traveling unless it is absolutely necessary.”
Wake County is big
Spanning more than 834 square miles, Wake County is the seventh largest county in the state by total area, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Weather conditions won’t be the same throughout the county. Not all cities and towns will receive the same amount of precipitation or have the same temperature, which can lead to differing driving conditions.
But county school systems implement delays and cancellations system-wide, so a family in one part of the county, where there may not have been much snowfall, may be confused or frustrated about changes to the school schedule — not realizing that neighborhoods miles away may be experiencing a different weather situation.
North Carolina’s ice/snow resources
To prepare for the wintry weather, 1,900 N.C. Department of Transportation employees and contractors had used more than 2.5 million gallons of brine to treat hundreds of miles of highways as of Jan. 10, the department told The Charlotte Observer.
The state also has more than 600 trucks that can be equipped as needed with plows and spreaders. Of those, the highway division that includes Raleigh has 62 trucks in operation, and Charlotte has 80.
Once the storm moves in, NCDOT has 162,000 tons of salt ready to treat roads.
The Charlotte Observer’s Evan Moore contributed reporting to this story.
This story was originally published January 10, 2025 at 3:25 PM with the headline "Only a few inches of snow are predicted to fall on the Triangle. Why is it a big deal?."
