Ice covers the needles of a pine tree beside Jonquil Drive in Greensboro, N.C., on Saturday, February 13, 2021.
The National Weather Service office in Raleigh on Wednesday morning issued this icing forecast for central North Carolina for Thursday and Friday.
Forecasters say another nasty winter storm is coming — one that could leave at least half an inch of ice on exposed surfaces and cause significant power outages.
Greensboro and other parts of central North Carolina are under a winter storm warning from midnight Thursday until noon Friday.
The National Weather Service bureau in Raleigh says central North Carolina will get freezing rain Thursday, while areas north of Interstate 85 might see some sleet. Total ice accumulation will be between a quarter inch and a half inch, possibly more.
The weather service's Wednesday morning forecast predicts more than half an inch of ice in Guilford County on Thursday and more than six tenths in Roxboro. Power outages and tree damage are likely and travel could be nearly impossible throughout the day Thursday and into Friday.
A weather forecaster told the Winston-Salem Journal on Wednesday that a quarter inch of ice "is the magic number that it takes to see downed trees and power lines."
The winter storm warning applies to Guilford, Forsyth, Alamance, Davidson and other counties in the Triad and stretches east and north to the Triangle and the Virginia state line.
The National Weather Service office in Blacksburg, Va., has issued a similar winter storm warning for Rockingham County and areas along the N.C.-Virginia line.
Those areas could see 1 to 3 inches of snow and a half to three quarters of an inch of ice. Precipitation is expected to start after midnight Thursday and continue into Friday.
Contact John Newsom at (336) 373-7312 and follow @JohnNewsomNR on Twitter.​
