ROCKINGHAM — Winter weather in the Friday forecast has led to several more closures and cancellations.
Hamlet City Manager Matthew Christian said in an email that all city offices will be closed on Friday.
Richmond Community College posted on Facebook that it would also be closed on Friday, reopening Monday.
Rockingham Parks and Recreation announced on Facebook that all basketball games scheduled for Friday and Saturday have been canceled and are in the process of being rescheduled.
Richmond County government, including all box sites, will be operating on a two-hour delay, according to a Facebook post. However, there may be changes made Friday morning.
Rockingham City Manager Monty Crump preemptively announced that City Hall would be closed on Friday and the sanitation schedule would be weather-dependent.
Richmond County Schools also canceled classes for Friday.
A winter weather advisory began at 7 p.m. and will be in effect until 7 a.m. Saturday.
With continuing rain, meteorologists and state transportation officials are concerned about black ice overnight.
The N.C. Department of Transportation said in a press release Thursday evening that, although roads were treated across the central and eastern areas of the state, officials are “concerned that in some areas, the brine or salt might wash off the roads.”
The overnight low is expected to drop to 27 degrees.
According to the latest update from the National Weather Service, forecast models show a mix of sleet and snow is expected to start around midnight in the northeastern corner of the county.
The skies are predicted to be mostly clear throughout most of the day on Friday, with a few snow flurries in the early afternoon.
Most of the snowfall is expected to occur in the evening hours, from 7 p.m. to midnight, with Richmond County being on the western edge of the storm and falling in the “Zone of Uncertainty.”
Meteorologists say snow totals along the U.S. 1 corridor eastward to the Interstate 95 corridor may range from nothing to two inches, depending on which model is correct. The heaviest snowfall in the county is expected to be east of U.S. 1. Less than an inch is forecast west of the highway.
The area could see about 1/10 of ice accumulation overnight through Friday.
After the storm pushes off to the east, forecasters say travel could still be hazardous early Saturday morning.
