By By JONATHAN CLAYBORNE
jonathan@wdnweb.com
Staff Writer
A rare Christmas snow could fall on portions of eastern North Carolina over the weekend, the National Weather Service reported.
If it occurs, this would be the first white Christmas the area has experienced since 1989, said Lara Pagano, a meteorologist in the weather service’s Newport office.
In order to qualify as a white Christmas by weather service standards, at least 1 inch of snow must accumulate or already be on the ground Christmas Day, Pagano related.
As a precaution, John Pack, Beaufort County’s emergency management coordinator, began reviewing the county’s winter weather plans and communicating with local first responders about how they should prepare.
“We take these steps as precautionary steps,” Pack said.
Electric utility companies serving the county had line workers on standby Thursday, and N.C. Department of Transportation crews were beginning to spread brine solutions on roads, Pack revealed.
He urged residents to monitor TV and radio reports on the storm, and to check the weather service’s website for updates.
“I just wish that people would think very seriously about going out on the roads when they are snow- or ice-covered,” he said, adding people who don’t have to travel likely shouldn’t if ice and snow end up covering the roads.
“A lot of it’s just good judgment,” he pointed out.
Almost 21 years ago to the day, this region was hit by a strong storm that dumped 13 inches of snow at New Bern and Hatteras, with lesser amounts farther north, Pagano said.
“That’s the last time we had a white Christmas across the coastal plain,” Pagano remarked.
There were no indications this weekend’s event would rival the 1989 storm’s significance, but the forecast remained uncertain.
“There’s a lot of flux in this event,” Pack said.
The weather service hadn’t determined its accumulation forecast by Thursday afternoon, but early estimates called for potentially 1 to 4 inches of snow to fall Saturday night through Sunday morning.
“We’ll probably have a better idea about all of that when we get all the model data in for today,” Pagano said. “We’re starting to see definitely that we’re going to have some sort of low (pressure system) off our cost, but there’s a question on the actual timing and the location.”
How much snow falls, and where it falls, depends on the track of the system, she said.
The majority of the precipitation — be it rain or snow — will move into the coastal portions of the state by Christmas afternoon or evening, with most of the moisture coming in overnight.
“For right now we’re pretty much saying a chance of rain or snow to start with a bit of a mix, but overnight we’ll probably get in the way of maybe starting to see a changeover (to all snow) later on into Sunday as the low kind of moves offshore,” Pagano explained.
Breezes could pick up as the low passes by, and any snow that falls could be blown around a little by the wind.
“It will be a bit windy out there, probably getting into closer like Saturday night and into Sunday as that low approaches just off Cape Hatteras,” Pagano commented.
“We know many people will be traveling for the holidays and we want everyone to be prepared and especially careful,” state emergency management Director Doug Hoell was quoted as saying in a news release. “Now is the time to watch those weather forecasts and update those emergency supplies kits for your home and car.” 
DOT was scheduled to begin spreading a brine solution on interstates and major U.S. highways and would have crews on standby this weekend, the news release announced.
The N.C. Highway Patrol already had extra troopers on call for the weekend, according to the release.
There were abundant signs air masses already were on the move Thursday morning, as Beaufort County residents awoke to a crisp, blue sky and a howling northwest wind that occasionally gusted to 26 mph.
Tips for weathering the storm: