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North Carolina braces for cold front, winter storm

Morehead City firefighters work to clean up wreck that was caused by ice covered roads after a winter storm hit North Carolina in Morehead City, N.C. on Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022.
Tom Copeland
/
AP
Morehead City firefighters work to clean up wreck that was caused by ice covered roads after a winter storm hit North Carolina in Morehead City, N.C. on Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022.

Meteorologists say an "arctic blast cold front" will swing through central North Carolina on Friday.

"And all that means is it's a leading edge of a really cold air mass," Jonathan Blaes of the National Weather Service in Raleigh said. "This air mass actually comes from Canada and the Arctic. So, it's going to be accompanied by very cold temperatures. And as the air mass rushes into our region this afternoon and evening, we'll have a few sprinkles, and we'll have the winds increase and switch to the Northwest, and cold air will pour into the area this evening, and especially (Friday night)."

Wind gusts are expected to reach up to 35 miles per hour and temperatures could reach as low as mid-20's.

Blaes suggests bringing pets inside on Friday night due to below freezing temperatures as well as outside decorations due to wind gusts.

There could also be possible snow this weekend in the Roxboro and Greensboro areas.

According to the National Weather Service in Raleigh, its data collection point at the Raleigh-Durham International Airport hasn't seen snowfall since Jan. 30, 2022. The longest snowfall draught was 1,164 days, from Dec. 14, 1989, to Feb. 19, 1993.

NPR reports that multiple blasts of Arctic air are poised to hit much of the United States in the first half of January. Below-freezing temperatures are possible as far south as Florida and the Gulf Coast, the NWS says.


WUNC's Mitchell Northam and Jason deBruyn contributed to this report.

Sharryse Piggott is WUNC’s PM Reporter.
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