Wintry Weather Possible Thursday Morning -- Wednesday Afternoon Update

News 14 Carolina meteorologists were just on a conference call with the National Weather Service in Raleigh. Based on those discussions and the latest weather data coming in this afternoon, here is the latest thinking on the chance for wintry weather Thursday morning --

2am - 4am: Precipitation begins to move into our area of North Carolina. The precipitation will spread from around the foothills and Charlotte area into the Sandhills during this time. The precipitation may start as a quick burst of snow before mixing with sleet and freezing rain.

4am - 5am: Precipitation spreads across the Triangle. Again, the precip. may begin as a quick burst of snow before mixing to sleet and freezing rain. A changeover to rain should begin during this time in the southern Sandhills.

5am-9am: (Rush hour period) Wintry mix continues in the Triangle. A dusting of snow is possible in some spots especially on the north and west side of the Triangle before the precipitation becomes more of a sleet/freezing rain mix. The precipitation should change to all rain in the Sandhills during this time. A few slick spots could form on some roads especially on bridges and overpasses around the Triangle during this time.

9am-11am: The precipitation should change over to all rain during this time.

Midday-Afternoon: A cold rain will continue across much of area with rain totals near 0.5" Most of the rain should come to an end around late afternoon.

This does not look to be a major winter weather event in our area. Because of the timing with the precipitation falling during the morning rush hour, there may be some issues around the Triangle. A dusting or light coating of frozen precipitation could cause a few slick spots. Again, especially be cautious on bridges and overpasses. It is probably best to leave for work a couple hours later than normal to avoid these issues as the changeover to rain should take place by late morning.

The Triad area (Greensboro and Winston-Salem area) will likely see the biggest impact from this winter event. While a crippling storm is not forecast, a glazing of ice from 0.10" to 0.25" around the Triad could make for tricky travel if you are headed west Thursday morning to Thursday early afternoon.

As with any winter weather event in North Carolina, things could still change. A couple degree change in temperature or a change in the arrival of the precipitation could mean a big change in the forecast. Because of that, we will continuously monitor the latest weather data into the night. The Weather on the Ones Forecast Center will be staffed around the clock tonight through tomorrow. We'll have updates every 10 minutes on News 14 Carolina.

When the precipitation begins to fall, you can let us know what type of weather you are experiencing in your part of North Carolina. Send your reports and weather pictures to weather@news14.com