Winter weather again affects eastern NC
Published 10:49 pm Sunday, March 12, 2017
It’s not over until it’s over.
Just when eastern North Carolina thought spring had sprung, winter reared its head once again.
The National Weather Service issued a winter-weather advisory this past weekend for the early hours of Sunday morning. The area was expected to see a dusting of snow and/or ice, if anything at all, with temperatures rising well above freezing before Sunday afternoon.
Chances of snow and wintry mix hovered around 30 percent Sunday, with many areas seeing a light dusting.
“Precipitation will begin as a light rain/snow mix inland with rain at the coast early Sunday morning, then transitioning to mostly snow through late morning, before ending as a period of rain by early Sunday afternoon,” a Saturday report read. “Some light accumulations, less than an inch, are possible. Given the recent warm temperatures, the ground is still quite warm, and most accumulation will be on elevated surfaces.”
The threat for Beaufort County was relatively low, but county Emergency Management Services stayed at the ready. Residents were also asked to remain alert and use caution on the roads in case of slippery spots.
At the same time, farmers also kept watch on their crops to protect them from freezing temperatures in the evenings.
Southside Farms in Chocowinity has already had to cover its strawberries multiple times this year to keep the cold from damaging the crop. The strawberries are expected to be ripe and ready for picking by the end of March and early April.
“You do what you gotta do for a berry!” Southside Farms wrote on its Facebook page.
Sunday night’s temperatures dipped into the low-30s, but the next round of rain isn’t expected to begin until Monday afternoon, when temperatures will remain in the low-50s to mid-40s, according to the latest forecast.
Staying with the trend of oscillating temperatures, next week’s forecasts show temperatures nearing 70 degrees.