• Some icing possible early Sunday.
While meteorologists are tracking a winter storm headed into North Carolina that will dump one to two feet of snow in the mountains of the state, Columbus County seems to be in the clear for any snow accumulation.
WTXY Kool 103.9’s own meteorologist Christopher Cawley says the area only has a ten percent chance of seeing any of the cold fluffy stuff, and though we may not be making any snowmen this go round, we can certainly make some mud pies afterwards.
If any freezing precipitation occurs, it will likely be in the very early morning hours, and could quickly melt, depending on how rapidly temperatures climb after sunrise.
“(There’s a) better likelihood for freezing rain in the Whiteville area, transitioning to soaking, copious rainfall for the rest of the day Sunday (2-3 inches of rain),” reports Cawley.
Though the storm seems to be leaving the county out of the worst of the weather, the N.C. Department of Transportation is still preparing roadways for icy conditions.
According to the NCDOT Facebook page, over 1,100 employees and over 400 trucks have placed 1 million gallons of brine out ahead of the storm all over the state including on main roads in Columbus County. The department also keeps 2,150 dump trucks fitted with plows and spreaders on standby during winter storms along with 503 frontend loaders and backhoes.
The NCDOT isn’t the only organization preparing for winter weather.
Jeff Brooks, spokesperson for Duke Energy, says crews are getting their equipment ready to respond to any power outages that may occur. Duke crews are currently loading trucks with poles, transformers, and wires in case a system needs to be rebuilt after the storm.
He also says that customers should have precautions in place in the event that they lose power.
“For most of us, the biggest concerns are making sure that you have the things you need to get through a day or two if you lost power and making sure you have ways to keep your cell phone charged. If you do use a generator as some people do, making sure you check that it is in good operating condition and make sure you are only using it the way the manufacturer intended,” explained Brooks.
Folks are also encouraged to stay away from downed powerlines, and Duke customers should report any outages by texting OUT to 57801, or by calling 1.800.POWER ON.
