ROCKINGHAM — Are you ready for more snow?
The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for Richmond County and the rest of central and northeastern North Carolina, as well as north-central counties in South Carolina, including Chesterfield and Marlboro.
The advisory goes into effect at 6 p.m. Friday until 6 a.m. Saturday.
Forecasters are calling for 1-2 inches of snow to blanket the region overnight. That snow could be preceded by light rain earlier in the night. No freezing rain is expected with this storm.
According to the NWS morning briefing, snow is expected to start falling in the northern part of the county and along the Pee Dee River just before 11 p.m. and continue throughout the night, before moving out the Derby area around 9 a.m. Saturday.
In addition to the snowfall, forecasters say wind gusts could be as high as 32 mph along the Interstate 74 and U.S. 1 corridors, which could lead to spotty power outages across the region.
Overnight lows, as the snow falls, will be in the upper 20s. Although the skies will be clear, Saturday’s high is only expected to reach 38 degrees, with a wind chill around 27, followed by another cold night with a low of 18 and wind chill around 12 degrees.
The NWS warns that black ice could be a travel hazard for the next few nights.
The N.C. Department of Transportation “encourages everyone to avoid driving unless necessary and, if you must drive, slow down and be careful.”
Last week, an overnight winter storm dumped 3-5 inches of snow across Richmond County. Remaining icy secondary roads across the county led to the cancellation of school on Monday and a delay on Tuesday.
The previous weekend, ice associated with another winter storm knocked out power to more than 4,000 residents.
