NWS Calls For Major Ice Storm Friday

Current versions of this map and a text forecast is here.

The National Weather Service is calling for up to a quarter inch of ice to accumulate in Macon County this Friday. If so, it will be a devastating Ice Storm for our county. I pray it does not come to pass.

If you have things that you need to do in order to prepare for an ice storm, please get moving now.

Please keep checking the continuously updated forecasts on the National Weather Service page for our area at this link.

Here is the text of the alert:


***URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE***
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
307 PM EST WED JAN 23 2013

...POTENTIAL ICE STORM FRIDAY...

.A FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL MOVE THROUGH THE REGION ON FRIDAY BRINGING A PERIOD OF PRECIPITATION. WITH COLD AIR WEDGED AGAINST THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS...A WINTRY MIX OF PRECIPITATION TYPES WILL RESULT ESPECIALLY IN THE MOUNTAINS.


...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM LATE THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY EVENING...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WATCH...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM LATE THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY EVENING.

* LOCATIONS...THE MOUNTAINS OF SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA...FAR NORTHWEST SOUTH CAROLINA...AND FAR NORTHEAST GEORGIA.

* HAZARDS...WINTRY PRECIPITATION...MOSTLY IN THE FORM OF FREEZING RAIN...BUT ALSO MIXED WITH SLEET AT TIMES.

* TIMING...EARLY FRIDAY MORNING THROUGH EARLY SATURDAY MORNING...WITH MOST OF THE PRECIPITATION FALLING AROUND MIDDAY FRIDAY.

* ACCUMULATIONS...AROUND ONE QUARTER OF AN INCH OF ICE...ALONG WITH SNOW AND SLEET ACCUMULATION OF UP TO A HALF INCH.

* IMPACTS...ICE AND SLEET WILL CAUSE ROADWAYS AND SIDEWALKS TO BECOME SLIPPERY...MAKING TRAVEL DANGEROUS...ESPECIALLY ON BRIDGES AND OVERPASSES. ICE MAY ALSO ACCUMULATE ON POWER LINES AND CAUSING THEM TO FALL...LEADING TO POWER OUTAGES.

* TEMPERATURES...IN THE UPPER 20S TO LOWER 30S.

* WINDS...SOUTH 5 TO 10 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 20 MPH.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WINTER STORM WATCH MEANS THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT SNOW...SLEET...OR ICE ACCUMULATIONS THAT MAY IMPACT TRAVEL.

CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE LATEST FORECASTS.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR FAVORITE SOURCE OF WEATHER INFORMATION FOR THE LATEST UPDATES. ADDITIONAL DETAILS CAN BE FOUND AT WWW.WEATHER.GOV/GSP.