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Flood watch in effect; snow in foothills
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Published: February 5, 2010
CHARLOTTE - A drenching rain is falling this morning across most of the Charlotte metro region, but several inches of snow fell overnight north of Interstate 40 in North Carolina.
Snow, sleet and freezing rain were reported in the Morganton-Hickory-Statesville area, but heavy rain might turn out to be the big story today over much of the region.
A flood watch is in effect for Mecklenburg, Cabarrus and most nearby counties throughout today, through 7 p.m., with between 2 and 3 inches of rain possible.
Temperatures this morning stayed above freezing in Charlotte, Monroe, Rock Hill, Gastonia, Concord, Albemarle and Salisbury. Readings at 6:30 a.m. were near freezing in Statesville and Hickory.
The National Weather Service and county sheriff's offices report between 2 and 4 inches of snow fell overnight in parts of Rutherford, Burke, Catawba, Caldwell, Alexander, Wilkes and extreme northern Iredell counties.
However, since 4 a.m., the snow changed to freezing rain in Hickory and Statesville and is expected to change to rain before 9 a.m., as temperatures climb above freezing.
Road conditions are bad this morning north of I-40, although police in Hickory say the rain that fell in the past few hours has melted snow on highways. Roads in Catawba County are said to be mostly wet on major thoroughfares and slushy on side streets.
The N.C. Highway Patrol in Newton reports several dozen wrecks since midnight. No serious injuries were reported, however.
Here in the immediate Charlotte area, authorities are preparing for the possibility of flooding.
No flooding has been reported as of 6:45 a.m., but radar shows several bands of heavy rain moving northward toward Charlotte from South Carolina. Police are urging motorists to slow down during the morning commute, with the expectation that heavy rain will cause ponding on roadways.
In Iredell County, the N.C. Department of Transportation's Mark Taylor said crews prepared Thursday by spreading brine on roadways to melt sleet and ice accumulations. "Once the brine is down, we just wait and see what develops," he added.
While the National Weather Service said the Hickory-Statesville-Morganton corridor along I-40 is at risk of damaging amounts of freezing rain, forecasters painted the ice storm's bulls eye over an area stretching from Asheville to Hendersonville.
A spokeswoman for Blue Ridge Electric, which covers the Lenoir-Boone area, said crews were filling their trucks with gas and making sure chainsaws were ready, in case trees come down.
The same is true for Duke Energy, which services the Hendersonville area.
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