The two-day snow and ice storm has finally stopped, but hazardous road conditions remain.
Kathleen Carroll is a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Raleigh. She said temperatures rose into the upper-30s yesterday, causing the snow to start melting.
“The problem is that it didn't really dry out a whole lot before the sun set and temperatures started to fall again,” Carroll said. “So what's we've seen over night is a pretty good development of black ice on area roads.”
North Carolina Highway Patrol First Sergeant Jeff Gordon said the most recent crash numbers come from midnight to 6:00 this morning. Troop D, which includes Orange County, responded to 242 calls for service. Gordon said that includes crashes and stranded motorists. Wake and Durham Counties are in Troop C, which had 246 calls for service.
Meteorologist Carroll said temperatures are likely to rise to the upper 30s and 40s today, which should mean several hours of melting snow and ice. She said skies should be clearer today and temperatures will climb a bit, but added it's hard to tell whether the air will be dry enough to evaporate the snow and ice runoff.
“The issues gonna be, if we melt a lot today, and it doesn't dry out, then we're gonna have more issues, you know, with slick spots again tomorrow morning,” Carroll said.
She said drivers should consider icy roadways before heading out the next few mornings.
