An overnight period of heavy sleet and occasional bands of snow have raised havoc on the roads of western North Carolina. I've monitored numerous reports of accidents and the North Carolina Department of Transportation attempts to clear the roads of ice and snow.
Helpful Twitter hashtags to follow (using your favorite twitter client) this weather event as people report what they are seeing and hearing are: #WNCwx #AVLsnOMG #WNCscan #AVLnews and #NCwx.
Here is a bief audio recording of the sleet falling at my house just before 3am this morning...
The view from the WPFJ webcams of downtown Franklin, NC.
This is the webcam at Western Carolina University.
Downtown Sylva, NC webcam hosted by The Sylva Herald.
Before you hit the roads, please check the local National Weather Service Office and the NCDOT Travel Management System for an update on conditions. If you have a radio scanner, you probably already have the proper local frequencies programmed into it and have been listening to the Volunteer Fire Departments, EMS and Law Enforcement responding to wrecks and transporting people to area hospitals.
Here are reports from the National Weather Service:
For the southwestern mountains...
Winter Weather Advisory
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
605 AM EST SUN DEC 12 2010
...SNOW DEVELOPS ACROSS THE NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAINS TODAY...
NCZ062-121915-
/O.EXT.KGSP.WW.Y.0029.101212T1105Z-101214T1100Z/
MACON-
INCLUDING THE CITY OF...FRANKLIN
605 AM EST SUN DEC 12 2010
...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM EST TUESDAY...
THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM EST
TUESDAY.
* LOCATIONS...MACON COUNTY IN NORTH CAROLINA.
* HAZARDS...A MIXTURE OF RAIN...SNOW...SLEET...AND POSSIBLY
FREEZING RAIN THIS MORNING. A COMBINATION OF SNOW...GUSTY
WINDS...AND LOW WIND CHILL VALUES IS EXPECTED FROM THIS
AFTERNOON THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT.
* TIMING...WINTRY MIX THIS MORNING WILL BECOME ALL SNOW BY THIS
AFTERNOON AND WILL CONTINUE THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT.
* ACCUMULATIONS...WIDELY VARIABLE ACCUMULATIONS OF SNOW AND SLEET
FROM A DUSTING TO 2 INCHES THIS MORNING. ANY ICE ACCUMULATIONS
THIS MORNING WILL BE VERY LIGHT. STORM TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS
FROM 1 TO AS MUCH AS 5 INCHES ARE EXPECTED BY THE TIME SNOW
ENDS MONDAY NIGHT.
* IMPACTS...HIGHWAYS ARE LIKELY TO BECOME SLIPPERY AND HAZARDOUS.
GUSTY WINDS MAY DOWN SOME TREES AND POWER LINES. DANGEROUS WIND
CHILL VALUES WILL DEVELOP DURING THE LATE NIGHT AND EARLY
MORNING HOURS.
* TEMPERATURES...LOW TEMPERATURES WILL RANGE FROM 10 TO 20 TONIGHT
AND FROM THE SINGLE DIGITS TO THE MID TEENS MONDAY NIGHT.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW AND
GUSTY WINDS WILL CAUSE PRIMARILY TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED
FOR SNOW COVERED ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES...AND USE CAUTION
WHILE DRIVING.
&&
$$
For the counties bordering Tennessee...
Winter Storm Warning
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
605 AM EST SUN DEC 12 2010
...SNOW DEVELOPS ACROSS THE NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAINS TODAY...
NCZ033-048>052-058-121915-
/O.CAN.KGSP.WW.Y.0028.000000T0000Z-101212T1200Z/
/O.EXT.KGSP.WS.W.0015.101212T1105Z-101214T1100Z/
/O.EXT.KGSP.WW.Y.0029.101212T1105Z-101214T1100Z/
AVERY-MADISON-YANCEY-MITCHELL-SWAIN-HAYWOOD-GRAHAM-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...NEWLAND...SPRUCE PINE...WAYNESVILLE
605 AM EST SUN DEC 12 2010
...WINTER STORM WARNING NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM EST TUESDAY
ABOVE 3500 FEET...
...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM EST TUESDAY
BELOW 3500 FEET...
THE WINTER STORM WARNING ABOVE 3500 FEET IS NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL
6 AM EST TUESDAY. THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY BELOW 3500 FEET IS
NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM EST TUESDAY.
* LOCATIONS FOR WARNING...HIGH ELEVATION LOCATIONS ABOVE 3500 FEET
IN THE NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAIN COUNTIES ALONG THE TENNESSEE
BORDER.
* LOCATIONS FOR ADVISORY...LOCATIONS BELOW 3500 FEET IN THE IN THE
NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAIN COUNTIES ALONG THE TENNESSEE BORDER.
* HAZARDS...A MIXTURE OF RAIN...SNOW...SLEET...AND POSSIBLY
FREEZING RAIN THIS MORNING. A COMBINATION OF SNOW...GUSTY
WINDS...AND LOW WIND CHILL VALUES IS EXPECTED FROM THIS
AFTERNOON THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT.
* TIMING...WINTRY MIX THIS MORNING WILL BECOME ALL SNOW BY THIS
AFTERNOON AND WILL CONTINUE THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT.
* ACCUMULATIONS...WIDELY VARIABLE ACCUMULATIONS OF SNOW AND SLEET
FROM A DUSTING TO 3 INCHES THIS MORNING. ANY ICE ACCUMULATIONS
THIS MORNING WILL BE VERY LIGHT. STORM TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS
FROM 3 TO AS MUCH AS 10 INCHES ARE EXPECTED BY THE TIME SNOW
ENDS MONDAY NIGHT.
* IMPACTS...HIGHWAYS ARE LIKELY TO BECOME SLIPPERY AND HAZARDOUS.
GUSTY WINDS MAY DOWN SOME TREES AND POWER LINES. DANGEROUS WIND
CHILL VALUES WILL DEVELOP DURING THE LATE NIGHT AND EARLY
MORNING HOURS.
* TEMPERATURES...LOW TEMPERATURES WILL RANGE FROM 10 TO 20 TONIGHT
AND FROM THE SINGLE DIGITS TO THE MID TEENS MONDAY NIGHT.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW...SLEET...OR
FREEZING RAIN WILL CAUSE TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR
SLIPPERY ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES...AND USE CAUTION WHILE
DRIVING.
A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW AND HIGH WINDS MEANS SEVERE
WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. SIGNIFICANT
AMOUNTS OF SNOW AND HIGH WINDS ARE FORECAST WHICH WILL MAKE
TRAVEL DANGEROUS. ONLY TRAVEL IN AN EMERGENCY. IF YOU MUST
TRAVEL...KEEP AN EXTRA FLASHLIGHT... FOOD...AND WATER IN YOUR
VEHICLE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY.
&&
$$
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