By Steve Huffman

Salisbury Post

Here’s news that’ll delight area school children.

There’s a good chance that Rowan and surrounding counties will get a mix of winter precipitation early Thursday.

Greg Schoor, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service near Greenville, S.C., said the precipitation should reach Rowan County about daybreak and continue through the day.

He said the precipitation will likely start as sleet before changing to freezing rain. Schoor also noted, “Snow is not out of the question.

“It’s going to be pretty much an all-day event,” he said.

Schoor said the precipitation will result from a low pressure system that’s forming along the Gulf Coast. It’ll be moving north throughout the night Wednesday and during the day Thursday.

Ice accumulations, Schoor said, will likely measure about a quarter-inch in Rowan County though some spots could get as much as a half-inch.

“It will be a problem in the morning hours, certainly,” Schoor said.

He said he and other meteorologists were keeping their eyes on the system Tuesday night trying to determine exactly where the wintry mix will produce snow and where it’s likely to leave ice. Snow, Schoor said, is likely in the mountains and to points north of the Triad.

He admitted that determining the type of precipitation that any particular area is likely to receive is at times difficult.

Schoor said that while the surface temperature in Rowan County will probably be below freezing early Thursday, a blanket of clouds a couple of thousand feet in altitude will hold warmer temperatures.

He said that precipitation from altitudes above is likely to first fall as snow, but turn to rain when it hits the warmer air. As the rain approaches the ground and the colder air, it will turn to sleet or freezing rain.

Schoor said that while the temperature may climb above freezing Thursday afternoon, it will fall again that night, causing more freezing.

Contact Steve Huffman at 704-797-4222 or shuffman@salisburypost.com.