ROCKINGHAM — A wintry mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain is in the forecast for Richmond County on Sunday, with the National Weather Service extending a winter storm watch eastward.
The eastern edge of the watch now includes Bladen, Cumberland, Harnett, Wake, Franklin and Warren counties. Chesterfield and Marlboro counties in South Carolina are also included.
The watch will be in effect from midnight Saturday to midnight Sunday.
According to the NWS weather briefing at 9 a.m. Friday, the best chance to see snow will be between 4 and 7 a.m. on Sunday before several hours of freezing rain gives way to rain in the early afternoon, eventually clearing out before sunset.
Forecasters are expecting less than an inch of snow and up to a quarter-inch of ice accumulation, the latter of which could lead to scattered power outages.
The highest regional ice accumulations, up to a third of an inch, are predicted for western Moore, northern Montgomery, southern Randolph and most of Stanly counties.
In addition to the precipitation, wind gusts associated with the storm could be as high as 30 mph. Those gusts, combined with accumulating ice, compound the risk of power outages and slick roads.
The NWS says travel could be impacted into Monday, as overnight lows are forecast to be around 30 degrees.
Forecasters say predictions could change closer to Sunday.
