Weather conditions should improve

Paul B. Johnson, The High Point Enterprise, N.C.
·2 min read

Feb. 18—HIGH POINT — A winter storm that brought power outages and dicey driving conditions should push out of the area Friday, with the promise of less frigid temperatures and dry conditions through the weekend.

The High Point area endured waves of freezing rain, along with merely cold rain, throughout Thursday. As of noon Thursday, the High Point area had recorded between one-tenth and one-fifteenth of an inch of ice accumulation from freezing rain, according to the National Weather Service.

The chance of frozen precipitation should diminish dramatically Friday, with the last threat of freezing rain ending after midnight Thursday, said Dan Leins, meteorologist with the National Weather Service office out of Raleigh.

Temperatures hovered around the freezing mark throughout Thursday, Liens told The High Point Enterprise. But the temperature pushed just above freezing to allow some melting of ice about mid-afternoon.

"The precipitation will begin to taper off Friday morning," he said. "Around midnight there will still be some freezing rain around. But by the time you get up Friday morning, there's definitely going to be a trend of improving conditions."

Highs will reach into the mid-40s Friday and around 40 degrees Saturday and Sunday.

"But that's better than 32 degrees," said Leins, who works out of the National Weather Service office in Raleigh.

Forecasters say there's little to no chance of precipitation through the weekend.

"There's relief on the way," Liens said.

On Thursday, the first two significant power outages in High Point happened late in the morning. A massive tree took down lines serving parts of south High Point around the intersection of Market Center Drive and S. Main Street, while another mammoth tree brought down lines in the northern part of the city, said Electric Utilities Department Director Garey Edwards.

The two outages affected about 2,000 of the city municipal power department's 40,000 customers.

Weather conditions overnight will determine the level of outages, Edwards told The Enterprise. Cold, rainy conditions and darkness complicate the ability of restoring service, he said.

The governor's office reported on Wednesday that Gov. Roy Cooper authorized the use of N.C. National Guard troops to help with the removal of fallen trees and other debris.

On Wednesday and Thursday, N.C. Department of Transportation crews were criss-crossing major highways disbursing salt on pavement.

pjohnson!@hpenews.com — 336-888-3528 — @HPEPaul