4 p.m. Saturday

Temperatures will remain in the mid-20s for the rest of the afternoon, dipping into the low 20s around 6 p.m.

Tideland Electric Membership Corp. is reporting more than 1,500 power outages in its service area as of 3 p.m. (Lowland circuit: 767; Pungo circuit: 330; Scattered: 234; Pamlico County: 201; West Hyde County: 11).

“Crews report that we have a galloping line situation on the Lowland circuit. Galloping lines occur when you have ice formulation along with steady winds. Instead of the ice simply encasing the power line it forms something like an airplane wing that is in the direction of the blowing wind,” a Tideland Facebook post reads. “This gives the power line lift and the lines begin bouncing up and down (thus the term galloping lines). This happens infrequently in Tideland territory but if the galloping gets too bad it can start damaging crossarm structures.”

 

12 p.m. Saturday

Beaufort County remains under a winter storm warning.

As expected, ice accumulation still remains to be the main cause of concern for the area.

Beaufort County Emergency Management Services is warning residents about hazardous driving conditions, especially on bridges and overpasses, and power outages.

Residents are asked to stay home and off the roads. Abandoned vehicles on the roads make it difficult for NCDOT crews to clear them and will likely be towed.

“The roadways in the western part of Beaufort County are icy and sleet covered. The trees and power lines are coated with ice, and small limbs are falling as a result of the wind. We can expect some scattered to isolated power outages throughout the day as the temperatures continue to fall,” a report states. “The good news is that the storm is moving very quickly and will produce less sleet/snow than was originally expected.”

5 p.m. Friday

At its briefing Friday night, Beaufort County Emergency Management Services reported that forecasts show an increase in freezing rain and sleet, which also means a decrease in snow totals.

“Freezing rain has become one of the primary threats from this storm, with anywhere from a tenth to a third of an inch possible across the northern and western portion of the area,” an update reads.

Ice accumulation could reach 0.3 of an inch, with the western and northern parts of the county at the highest risk.

The Washington area can expect temperatures to dip into the low 30s Friday night.

 

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A winter storm warning has been issued for Beaufort County and surrounding areas.

As of 6 a.m. Friday, the National Weather Service estimated that the county would see anywhere from 1-4 inches of snow and 0.16-0.19 inches of ice accumulation.

“Wintry precipitation is expected to end Saturday evening, but roadways will likely remain hazardous into Sunday, possibly into Monday depending on snowfall amounts,” the Beaufort County Emergency Management Services report reads. “Very cold temperatures are expected Sunday and Monday, with wind chill values both mornings in the single digits for most locations.”