Yadkin County and the surrounding area is expected to be impacted by a significant ice storm beginning late on tonight and into Thursday.
Ice accumulation from half an inch to three quarters of an inch ice is what Yadkin EMS Director Keith Vestal said the most recent reports are indicating for Yadkin County.
“One quarter of an inch of ice is our threshold for major problems,” said Vestal. “We’re preparing for a bad storm and hoping for the best.”
Vestal reminded area residents to avoid travel on icy roads and to be prepared to be self sufficient for 48 to 72 hours should widespread power outages occur.
“The first 72 is on you,” is the slogan Vestal said to keep in mind.
Downed trees and power lines if a significant ice storm occurs will hamper travel making it difficult for emergency personnel to respond. Vestal said plans are being made should the county need to open shelters.
“We’re getting everything in place for a significant storm,” he said.
Meteorologist Mike Sporer with the National Weather Service in Blacksburg, Virginia said the winter weather forecast for Yadkin County late Wednesday into Thursday would be “primarily a freezing rain event with a significant accumulation of ice.”
Sporer said the system would begin to push up from the southwest around midnight on Wednesday.
“By the time we get to 1 or 2 a.m. it’s going to be precipitating pretty heavily,” Sporer said.
The system is expected to continue well into Thursday.
“It’s going to stay around awhile. It’s going to be straight through Thursday morning,” Sporer said, with a little bit of a break by Thursday afternoon with some rain potentially mixing in before a return to more freezing rain.
“I still think we’re going to be dealing with a couple more periods of precipitation into Thursday afternoon and evening,” he added. “It’s not a pleasant scenario.”