Staff and wire reports
Rowan County residents saw snow falling Tuesday evening and could see it on the ground this morning.
But by this weekend, the snow and cold will be a memory as temperatures climb into the 60s.
Meanwhile, mountain counties were bracing for a winter storm the National Weather Service said could dump as much as a foot of snow in higher elevations.
Snow fell for an hour or so starting at around 6 p.m. Tuesday in downtown Salisbury then resumed falling around midnight, covering grassy areas and tree limbs.
The Weather Service said accumulation of up to an inch was possible locally.
Law enforcement officials reported icy conditions developing on some county roads early this morning. Dunn’s Mountain Road was “a solid sheet of ice,” authorities responding to a fire there said.
Forecasters said it would remain cold today and Thursday, with highs only around 35 degrees both days and lows dipping to around 20 degrees.
Friday, though, the daytime high is expected to approach 60 and highs on Saturday and Sunday should be in the mid-60s, according to the Weather Service.
In the mountains, the Department of Transportation had begun clearing roads of snow and pre-treating roads and bridges with salt brine Tuesday in anticipation of the heavier snowfall expected throughout the night and today.
Forecasters also issued winter storm warnings or advisories for nearly two dozen counties in central North Carolina, from the Virginia border south to Sanford and Goldsboro.
But the weather service said the track and power of the storm was uncertain and no good estimate was available of precipitation, beyond saying an inch or two was possible.
“There is the potential for accumulating snow tonight because temperatures will be a lot colder,” said meteorologist Brandon Vincent. “Anything that falls will most likely stick on roads, anything. We’re uncertain as to how much precipitation there will be and where it will fall.”