Forecasters: Never mind
By Steve Herring
Published in News on January 8, 2010 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/BOBBY WILLIAMS
Leonard Grady of Beech Street takes his dog, Marley, for a walk in Herman Park this morning. Grady did not have to worry about snow, which missed the area.
Anyone hoping to wake up this morning to a winter wonderland, even if only a dusting of snow, found instead temperatures in the upper 30s and a ground left wet by only a trace of rain.
Wayne County Emergency Services Director Joe Gurley said he had not heard any reports of problems in the county overnight.
N.C. Department of Transportation crews were out early this morning checking road and bridge conditions.
"We thought there might be some freezing over because of the misty rain, but we didn't find anything," said Luther Thompson, DOT county maintenance supervisor.
While the weather service expects the moisture to evaporate before temperatures fall below freezing, Thompson still urges caution tonight on bridges and overpasses.
The anticipated cold temperatures did not arrive in time to turn the trace amount of precipitation that fell overnight on the area into snow. Also, warmer-than-expected air temperatures aloft played into the "non-event," said Ron Humble, a meteorologist at the Raleigh office of the National Weather Service.
However, that cold and blustery weather is expected to arrive by late morning or early afternoon when temperatures will take a dive into the low 30s.
It will be clear tonight with temperatures in the low 20s.
Adding to the chill will be westerly winds of 15-20 miles per hour with gusts up to 30 miles per hour, Humble said. The cold will be accompanied by "much drier air," he said.
The dew point, the measure of moisture in the air, is almost in the single digits, Humble said.
Humble said he was not aware of any snowfall in the area. A trace was reported at Henderson and Greensboro and a light flurry was reported in Johnston County about 12:45 a.m. this morning, but the snow did not stick.
Johnston County still could experience some problems later this afternoon depending on how fast temperatures fall, he said.
If temperatures drop before the moisture on the roads evaporates, then there is a potential for some icy spots in areas west of Wayne County, he said.
The weekend highs are expected to just reach into the mid 30s falling into the low 20s at night.
A dramatic change is expected Monday when temperatures could hit the upper 40s -- just a few degrees below the normal average high of 50-52 for the season.