A meteorologist based in North Carolina has issued a dire warning regarding the impending winter storm set to wallop the U.S. this weekend.
"This isn't a 'fun snow day.' This is a damaging ice event," WCNC chief meteorologist Brad Panovich posted on X on Friday. "We have been lucky for a long time, but the data is showing a setup that demands respect and preparation. Use today and tomorrow to prepare your family and check on your elderly neighbors, then stay off the roads once this starts."
The concerning message comes as National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologists have issued numerous winter storm, ice storm, and other winter weather-related alerts heading into the weekend. School was canceled for hundreds of thousands of students on Friday, and AccuWeather senior meteorologist Tom Kines told Newsweek that long-lasting power outages could last up to a week in some of the hardest-hit areas, including parts of North Carolina.
"Folks, I cannot stress this enough: Please prepare now! We have all day today (Friday) and most of the daylight hours on Saturday to get ready," Panovich wrote in his post on X. "After that, the window closes. This is not a 'bread and milk' situation-this is a major to extreme ice threat. We are looking at a setup we haven't seen in at least 10 years, and if the higher ice totals hold, we could be looking at something we haven't dealt with in 20 years (think back to the 2002 ice storm)."
Panovich added that freezing rain and heavy ice accumulation were expected across parts of South Carolina and North Carolina, including Charlotte, Asheville, Spartanburg and Boone. As much as 1 inch of ice could accumulate during the storm, according to the NWS office in Greenville-Spartanburg.
"At 0.25," tree limbs snap and power lines go down. At 0.50"+ (which is possible in the darker purple bands), we are talking about widespread, long-duration power outages and impassable roads," Panovich said. "IMPACTS: WHAT TO EXPECT POWER OUTAGES: This is my biggest concern. With ice accumulating on trees and lines, outages are likely. If you are in the high-risk zones, you need to be prepared to be without power for days, not hours."
In addition to long-duration power outages, travel will "become dangerous to impossible," Panovich said.
https://www.newsweek.com/dire-warning-prepare-winter-storm-set-hit-millions-11409128